


The Life Web

by Skeren



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Incredible Hulk (2008), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Ambiguous Genders, As a culture, Bucky Barnes Has Issues, Clint Is a Good Bro, Divergent Timelines, Dom/sub, Enemy Soulmates, F/F, F/M, Familial Soulmates, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, HYDRA is filled with Opportunistic Assholes, Hammer is Persistent, Happy takes his job seriously, Hermaphrodites, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Torture, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark Friendship, M/M, Minor Character Death, Multi, Obadiah is convincing, Pack Dynamics, Platonic Soulmates, Rhodey Is a Good Bro, Ross is going to regret that, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Suddenly Fluff, Super Serum Theories, Tony does his Best, Touch-Starved, Unconventional versions of ALL OF THESE
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-18
Updated: 2018-05-12
Packaged: 2018-05-27 12:50:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 63
Words: 91,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6285169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skeren/pseuds/Skeren
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony had always known that he would be the one to take care of his pack when his soulmates finally started popping out of the woodwork. He was rich, it was kind of a given. To say nothing of the fact that he kept getting more marks, so his soulmate collection was abnormally huge, and given that he'd probably look after the soulmates of his soulmates too...</p><p>Still, he hadn't really expected that it would go from 'complicated' to 'frightening' in about two seconds flat before he'd even managed to make contact past soulmate number three.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First it was Complicated

**Author's Note:**

> Alright! So here's the deal with the tags. This fic WILL have tags added as I go, and that includes pairing tags and character tags as they show up. The only ones I added are the ones I know for absolute certain are going to be a thing in this story. Until I hit others though, I'll just leave it nebulous, so I do apologize if anyone prefers to know ahead of time. 
> 
> This world is based off of [this](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5693065/chapters/13114609) fandomless guide that I wrote more or less with this story in mind. It explains how all the biological and social strangeness of this story _works_. Count that as my worldbuilding chapter, if you like!
> 
> Now, onto the story!

Soulmates are complicated. 

By this, Tony means that his soulmate situation had been weird since he was born, and he genuinely had no idea how the hell he was supposed to actually do anything about it.

To be fair, given who he was, he always had those moments when meeting new business associates when he was frightened they'd get that look, that edge of dazed recognition, that meant they'd caught the odd scent that everyone in his circles liked to call the 'clue scent' or the 'homecoming scent'. He thought it was a whole lot of mystical bullshit, or a biological bit of code no one had quite figured out yet, but some people were romantics. He knew it, he'd experienced it, the first time with Rhodey on meeting him in college even, and he still wasn't that impressed with it.

People liked to forget that Schmidt, that is to say _Hydra's Red Skull_ had been one of Captain fucking America's Soulmates. Sure, it had been hushed up, and hushed up hard, but someone had leaked, and the scandal and horror it had caused had been memorable. Some people, let's be real, _a lot_ of people, took it as a hard reminder that soulmates were _not_ a romantic thing. Soulmates were just finding someone meant to be someone to you and that was fucking it. 

That didn't stop the people who thought Captain America and Red Skull dying together was absolutely romantic though, even if it _had_ always made Tony's skin crawl. 

Just like it didn't stop Tony from knowing since childhood that the moment he found any soulmate that they would then be _his problem_. No matter what kind of soulmate they were. It didn't matter if he hated them even, the expectation was there and he had to figure out how to deal with them from that moment forward on his own.

He kind of always hoped really hard that none of his were going to be an arch nemesis, because he was kind of a possessive kid, who grew into a possessive adult, and he couldn't really be blamed for wanting to be able to keep his destined pack, and wow but it was not going to be a small one if he managed to find them all. Especially given that he kept getting more marks as he got older to go with the freaking _four_ he'd been born with. 

He just knew that he was going to be fucking thrilled that he was rich when it came down to it, because even if they were all oddballs who just had him, that was still more than the typical pair of marks any one person had. And yeah, sure, it was usually the prerogative of the top Alpha in a pack to provide the housing situation but _fuck that_. His caretaking instincts may be a little broken, but Tony Stark was the kind of omega who was going to be the damn provider of the financial means in a pack, thank you very much. 

He'd be happy if any alphas he picked up ended up being artists or something, something that meant they didn't care about the money and were perfectly happy being kept humans. He could handle _that_ , no problem whatsoever.

Well, any _other_ alphas. Rhodey was certainly not that type at _all_. He was also overprotective in that adorable but completely not needed sort of way that some alphas had, which was cute, and he adored the guy, but _really_. Still, it wasn't like their friendship suffered for it, and he'd made it through college more or less unscathed due to the guy's intense protective instinct. Not that he'd tell him that, it would be mortifying, if only because he would _never live it down_ , but now he was on his own, out in the world while Rhodey was off with the military.

He missed him, a feeling which had only intensified when he'd taken over the company's public relations and had been thrown into this hell of speculative stares and expectations. There was a reason he'd dodged it, after all, and looks like he was getting now? Those hopeful gazes from sharks in the water as they scented the air on first introduction? Fuck no. 

Actually, no, he took it back. _Hell_ fucking no. 

Because one of them? One of those sharks who had been circling him the whole damn night? One who had been doing his level best to try and slander him to the ground in an effort to take advantage of his youth and seeming inexperience? One who had just come forward to greet him? Smelled like home. 

Justin Hammer was one of his soulmates. 

He didn't try to confirm it. He didn't wait to see the way the beta reacted when he registered what it was. He just dropped his hand, pivoted on his heel, and strode away. 

He could admit he was more surprised that the news didn't hit the tabloids the next morning than he was that the beta was his soulmate, honestly. 

Either way, Hammer was now officially His Problem, and he'd have to figure out how to deal with him.

Soulmates. Yeah, they were complicated alright. 

Upside? Even if he wanted nothing to do with the guy, at least Hammer wasn't a murderer or something, so he still had one up on Captain America at least.


	2. Breaking Even

After meeting Hammer, social events turned into an _adventure_. 

This is not the kind of silly, kid level adventure that resembled hide and seek either. This was a full-blown apocalyptic zombie evasion level adventure where the survivors are desperately trying to scavenge for supplies while the horde descends on them. Because that was Hammer in a nutshell, a zombie with a hoard at his back. He wasn't as charming as Tony, but he tried to be. He wasn't as skilled as Tony, but he tried to be. And lastly, he wasn't as good with manipulating situations to his favor, but by god he clearly tried to be.

All of these added together were why he was the less-stupid zombie heading the zombie hoard, because he tried to be a lot of things, but he just came over as a rotting thing that was going to either fall apart on your shoes or try to eat your face. Tony still hadn't figured out which, but the ongoing, increasing even, smear campaign was mixing uncomfortably with the _presents_ that the beta had started to send him on a regular rotation and just, no.

Tony was having no part of that passive aggressive bullshit. He was due to take over the company from Obie within the year and this was very much not something that he wanted to have standing between him and things actually _working_ properly. Ugh. Just. Ugh. Justin Hammer could just find someone else's dick to sit and spin on, it wasn't like the world was lacking for options. 

However, this didn't stop the beta's gratingly persistent attempts to _talk_ to him whenever they were in the same space, instead homing in on him as only someone with the advantage of a soulmate's scent could manage. It made him want to flip a table, and if he thought it would do a lick of good, he'd have started using scent dampeners. But no, soulscent, or whatever the hell people were calling it this week, was practically impossible to filter or cover, unlike the normal scent that came off a person.

More mystical hubaloo, that, but it wasn't his field and he'd leave that particular science to other people, ones who didn't deal in the hard sciences like he did, thank you very much.

No, the only successful way to avoid Hammer was to do just that. Avoid. Avoid like the building was on fire and he had to find an exit. Admittedly, this little game of evade the soulmate had come with one upshot that Obie was thrilled about. Tony was early to events, since that left him his best chance to make the rounds before Hammer showed up and he ended up bailing. And yeah, sure, people would notice sooner or later, if they hadn't already, but that didn't really matter in the long run. No, this was a short term situation while he made sure to get the beta stricken off of any and all legal forms as his next of kin, and made sure if something happened to him, that the fucker wouldn't inherit a penny.

Though if he was that kind of soulmate, the fact that Tony was far from the rest of the partygoers at this point, and couldn't even _hear_ them anymore, probably should have been a thing he thought more about. Since, if, say, an assassin _were_ to be hired then he most definitely was kind of putting himself at risk here. 

The thought had no sooner crossed his mind than he caught the scent of blood and _familiar_ from a room with a door lying half open and he _froze_. No way was that a good combination. No _way_ was any _any_ smooshing together of soulmate and enough blood that _he could smell it in the hall_ good. And he was no hero, really, but whatever was going on in there involved someone that was his, and if they were dying he wanted to at least _meet_ them first. 

Which explained why one moment, he was pushing the door open and stepping cautiously forward, and the next, he was slammed full body against the wall next to said door with a much stronger, and bigger holy shit, body following it to pin him there even as said door swung gently shut with a barely audible click. 

So, tonight no one had sent an assassin after him, but that didn't mean he might not be about to _die_ apparently, because the scent, the familiar tease of smell, was wrapped around the figure who was plastered to his front with an arm across his throat, and was that metal? That was metal. He was being pinned to the wall with someone's _functioning metal arm_ and it was a _soulmate_. But oh god, what had ze been _doing?_

He could still smell the blood, even over the scent, which was easing and clarifying with the ongoing proximity into the sharp tones of an unstable alpha, someone who had been yanked in and out of the arena of not quite enough contact to keep them stable and _fuck_. Usually, he saw this with people in places like the VA when he took a turn through there for charity reasons, not with someone who was _very much in his face_ and was... what?

The arm had shifted down enough that breathing was easier, and while one of his hands was caught in the alpha's other one, he cautiously lifted the one that wasn't pinned to lightly poke his... his _assailant_ in the ribs. Because the figure was sniffing him, he was pretty sure, through the featureless mask and face gear ze had on which _must_ filter scent _normally_ , that ze was _sniffing him_. "Um... Buddy? Honeybunches of Death and Destruction? Not to be a killjoy or anything here but, there's kind of a dead or dying guy over there, so if you want to examine the goods could we please, uh, _go?_ "

Not that he wanted to just leave someone to die, but he hadn't heard a noise from the other occupant of the room since he'd landed in here and he suspected that the he? She? Assassin? That the whatever pronouned person plastered to him really wouldn't go easily or willingly if police got involved and smelling the blood and death was enough, he didn't need to watch it too. Or participate in it happening to his very own self. 

The fact that the alpha was _growling_ at him only cemented this as perhaps the right idea, though there was no stopping the yelp as he went from pinned to the wall to across a very hard shoulder. It should be noted that metal shoulders are unpleasant and liable to knock the wind out of twenty-year-old Billionaires. And oh god, that omega was definitely dead, and he was going to be sick if he kept looking. So he didn't, pressing his face against the Assassin's, and ze was definitely one of those, with a capital A because oh god, back as the guy started to walk off with him. 

His voice was weak as he spoke straight into what had to be tactical gear and some sort of armor, winded and uneven. "Sweetiebear, I'm going to throw up all over your pretty ass if you keep carrying me like this."

Now, it should be stated that Tony Stark was not a damsel in need of rescue. He was also not a _stupid_ omega. He'd done his homework. Someone in the state of his new soulmate? Someone who had just gotten a faceful of blood, which hopefully this guy was shielded from by that mask, and was, from what he could scent on him, horribly unstable and had been for who knows how long? Did _not_ need an omega struggling against them that ze could _definitely_ smell. It would trigger a rut, he was almost sure, and those were _no ones_ idea of fun. It was like, the nightmare of the biological spectrum, as bad as an uncontrolled sub fall, really, and thank god Tony would never be at risk for either.

Not that most people who had _people_ were at risk for it either, but he watched the news, he _knew_ the kind of shit people did to one another, so this was just an example of that really. And oh, good, he'd been moved to a princess carry but-

Holy shit they'd just jumped out the window. They were going to die. They were on the fifth story and they were _going to die_. He was pretty sure he must have said that bit out loud though because the alpha carrying him _snorted_. As in, thought he was _funny_. Which made sense when a moment later there was a jolt, sure, but there was also zero damage, and they were already on the move again, Tony's wide eyes flicking from the alpha, because fuck it alpha was easiest right now, and their surroundings as ze _ran_ , acting like there wasn't a twenty-year-old being all up in the way and weighing them down.

For a little while, he didn't dare speak, not knowing what they were heading into, but even Tony's impressive capabilities could only hold up terror so long when he hadn't actually been _hurt_ in any way. If anything, now that he was taking a minute to just breathe, he realized that the alpha had actually been rather gentle with him. Aggressive, yes, fucking hell it had scared him, but controlled. 

He didn't even know what that meant, but he was pretty sure he could count his win tally over Captain America back to zero. Now both of them had killers on their soulmate list.

Hopefully, his didn't have any plans to take over the world.


	3. Stumble

James Buchanan Barnes was not a talker.

Now, Tony didn't know this at first, given that the poor thing was, well, covered in black tac gear, leather, and had that incredibly worrying mask on. Ze was pretty much the epitome of 'big, dark, and scary' on the initial pass, so Tony knew that the universe would forgive him for not realizing it right off the batt. It wasn't as though he'd been given a whole lot of clues to work with.

No, the clues that Tony had were a little more focused. Like the fact that after a while, he was put very gently in the passenger seat of a beat up car, and sure, while he could have run _then_ , it was a little late. He'd calmed down, his interest had been roused, and at this point he was _worried_. And not for himself either. Other clues were a little slower to come to him. Like the fact that the alpha had been, for lack of a better term, flexing. 

Ze'd been showing off for him. It probably hadn't been even remotely intentional, but the instinct of an alpha to impress had probably slammed face first into the awareness that there was an omega in their hold who could _help_ with their probably extremely horrible feeling hormone imbalance. Which he could work with. If the alpha wasn't going to hurt him, he could work with a _hell_ of a lot. 

Of course, this also meant that he had to stick around, and sticking around meant he really couldn't stay quiet. That just wasn't how he worked. "You know, I'm all for going with you, but it's going to get old if you keep up the whole silent treatment the whole time. I promise I'm not gonna ask who you work with or anything right now, I like _breathing_ , and you seem like a practical sort. But. Um. You're not pulling a 'take me to your leader' kind of thing, right? I don't think that would go so well for me."

Tony had shifted around in his seat as the car started to move, feeling distinctly out of place in his finery, and had settled his shoulder to the door of the vehicle so he could watch his newest soulmate while he talked. Of course, the moment he paused in his chatter, he got what must have been an evaluating once over, because along with the shake of the head he received to his question, the flesh and bone hand reached out, pushed him back flat into his seat, and _buckled him in_.

"Are you shitting me? Seriously? You're one of those?" Tony thumped his head back on the seat as another one of those amused sounding snorts left the alpha, which led him to suspect that that was as close as his assassin got to genuinely laughing about anything. 

To be fair, he would probably not much feel like laughing if he'd been sent off, volunteered? God he hoped not. But had ended up having to go kill people for who knows what reason. So he could probably count the scoffs and snorts as a pretty big success, really. Ze wasn't even looking at him now though, so he just shook his head and let the seatbelt situation stand. Seriously. Like he was going to have to worry about _car accidents_ when this guy, _this guy_ , was a walking armory.

And holy shit, he really hadn't noticed that about them before that. Gun, gun, knife, gun, and of course _that hand_. This was the best equipped person he'd ever seen, and that included when he went on trips to military bases in the last couple years with Obie. "Wow, okay, so, I'm not good at sitting and being quiet, so I really really hope that isn't going to be a problem. So, question time I guess. Just like, ignore me if it's not something you think you should be answering, and nods and headshaking for the rest?"

He waited for the first grudging nod, only then really relaxing where he was sitting. Okay, good. Ze was going to play along. He hadn't much been enamored with the idea of unhappy and crazy strong alpha in an enclosed space. He was pretty sure that _no one_ was actually enamored with that, no matter what they might claim. 

"Alrighty then. So, starting at the top. I get the idea you're not going to tell me your name if I ask?" He paused, getting the expected headshake in turn. "Thought not. How about gender designators then. You look like you lean toward he, do you?" A headshake. "Huh, alright, she then?" Again a headshake, this time with an accompanying snort. "So _really_ not a she. I've been using ze in my head, how about that one? Nice and ambiguous but with more umph than some of the others." There was a hesitation, then a slow nod.

Tony could have cheered. Information was _good_. Information was something he _thrived on_. "So, harder question now. Are you pleased with your armory there?"

There was a pause as the alpha seemed to stall on the question, and Tony could see the patch of skin over their goggles wrinkling up in what could only be confusion. Clearly, he'd just gone from zero to perplexing in a half a second. He really _really_ didn't like what that said about the situation. Finally, he got the answer of a sort of sideways head bob that could have meant absolutely anything, and Tony grimaced over it as he tried to figure out how to interpret it.

"Right then. Let's just... break that one down into smaller questions. First, do you like guns?" There was a nod this time, no hesitation. "Do you like knives?" Again, no hesitation, another nod. "Do you like _those_ knives?" This time there was a pause, a hesitance, but a nod all the same. Progress. "Do you like your guns?" There was a longer pause, then a headshake followed immediately with a nod, like ze was having difficulty deciding which answer was the appropriate one. "Okay, so I'm getting the feeling you don't like all of your guns. Do you like just _some_ of your guns?" There was a palpable air of relief around the alpha over his phrasing, and the nod was almost _enthusiastic_.

Tony settled back at that, mulling over what this little round of questions had just informed him of. First, with how well put together this guy was, if ze was in charge of their own armory, they probably would have picked out things that they liked as a rule. Secondly, he'd learned that ze was probably not alone in whatever went down tonight, and didn't do well when asked unclear questions. Ze seemed intelligent enough, alert and aware. He'd seen the way the scene he'd walked in on had been composed. He hadn't _wanted_ to, sure, but he'd still gotten a pretty decent eyeful of the situation. It had been clean, and while there was a lot of blood, it looked a lot like a fall, not a murder. 

Ze wouldn't have gotten fingered for it even if someone had seen them leaving the area. 

The combination spoke of training, and not the happy voluntary kinds that usually went with someone being a soldier in a legitimate enterprise. 

He probably should have been grateful that the car came to a halt in front of a tiny little house before he could voice those thoughts, but he was mostly just irritated that he needed to shift gears. 

"Sooo, is this officially me becoming your prisoner or what?" Oh hey, that was a full on _look_ , and he could feel it even through the gear hiding their expression. Ze must have had practice. "So _no_ then. Gonna invite me inside in that case?"

The answer was silence, of course, and the alpha vanished out of the vehicle with barely a glance. Tony stared for a beat in surprise, but only had time to huff and take off his seatbelt before his door was opened from the outside. All gentleman-like. Huh. Ze really _must_ be one of those kinds of alphas after all.

So, Tony did what he always did when he wasn't sure what he should do. He smiled and went with the flow of things. The flow of things _this time_ involved him being handed out of the car, which was _weird_ because no one had ever tried that on him before, and being practically _escorted_ up the walk to the house, the light touch at his back only leaving when ze pulled back to open the door for them. 

Then ze _held that too_. Who even _did_ that anymore? After everything else he'd seen that evening, Tony was pretty sure he just was all out of caring as to how or why someone with such good _manners_ was off being a skilled assassin that looked like ze'd escaped the pages of a gun-lover's BDSM magazine. He was curious, sure, but at this point he just wanted to get a good look at his soulmate while not riding the adrenaline roller-coaster. 

After the door had opened, and the alpha had nudged him inside, Tony had promptly set about exploring the space. The building had the distinct air of neglect, a layer of dust clear as day to him as he poked his head into the other rooms to see what was where while his assassin did... whatever it was ze was doing in the other room. He legitimately hadn't expected to finish his circuit to any kind of 'situation changed' scenario.

Which probably explained why the first words, after a long moment of staring, to leave his mouth were thus: 

"Holy shit, I just won the fanboy lottery."


	4. Soothe

So that not having any more cares thing?

Tony was just going to fling that right out the window now. He had cares. He had _all the cares_. He had so many cares that they were overflowing his brain and coming right out of his god damn mouth.

Which was horrible, because he'd sort of promised himself he'd try not to die this evening, at some point. He did so hate breaking promises. But, well, he couldn't stop talking because right here, not anywhere _near_ as dead looking as all the everything _ever_ painted him to be, was his favorite Commando.

Sure, he wasn't smiling, laughing... even talking at all. So _everything_ about his demeanor blatantly decried his every thought that was indicating it could possibly be true actually, save the appearance. This was James Buchanan Barnes. Fuck.

Double Fuck, because he'd started to slip in pronoun usage in his head and he wasn't going to let _that_ come out of his mouth because he wasn't an absolute asshole _all_ the time. It was ze. Bucky Barnes had flipped from he to ze during whatever happened in the time that kept him, them!, alive, and he'd do damn well to remember it.

That heavy, horrible feeling he'd had gathering in his thoughts since he'd started to notice pretty much everything? Finally managed to get a grip on the frantically fanboying side of him and gave it a vicious shake to get it to _stop_. Because there were deeper implications here. A _lot_ of fucking deeper implications. All of then _very very bad_.

And he needed to stop talking, because he just realized he hadn't stopped, and the alpha in front of him was looking increasingly alarmed. Ze looking alarmed was a pretty good indicator that things had gotten _really fucking not okay_ and he quickly rewound the words in his head so he'd be able to tell when, and _at what,_ the initial surprise over his blurted first sentence derailed onto 'oh god' for this being.

So, first sentence was such: "Holy shit, I just won the fanboy lottery." Surprise had met that.

And then the rest... "Nobody knew you were alive, that's bad. Really bad." Ah, so pretty much immediately, though that was still mostly surprised.

"Not because you're alive of course! I mean, I'm super happy you're alive, given you're my favorite one and all but," to which the surprise had started to lapse into proper worried alarm.

And finally, the last thing he said before he managed to remind himself to stop talking. Just for five seconds, so help him. "But that means that no one knew that you could stay alive through something like that and that's terrible, but you're alive to me my soulmate and that's awesome, and fuck, where have you _been_?"

So that was why the Alpha looked about three seconds from a full blown panic attack.... or possibly something worse. 

Abort! Cannot afford what that will cause!

Tony let instinct guide him as his brain and attention were finally back on the same page, and he moved forward, both hands reaching up to rest gently _gently_ on the Alpha's cheeks. This time, he could see the twitch, it being in the mouth and eyes and nowhere else. 

Fuck. 

Do not think about it, Tony Stark. Do not think about what abuses have been heaped on this being to bring them to this state. Do not _recognize_ how far ze's changed and become aware of what it means.

Just. Do. Not.

Help them first. Identify if ze's really who you're assuming ze is and not just some remarkably familiar looking relative, not that that was better, and go from there. 

Tony took a deep breath to keep from freaking out on his own behalf, and found himself gathered up to that tac gear covered chest, his sped breathing seeming to give the alpha focus to calm down now that he was so close. It was baffling to him, but he wasn't going to argue something that was apparently working. Working meant that there would be no hormone broken induced touch starved sex for Bucky, and much as he'd like to get his hands on them, the idea of any intimacy being driven to need like that gave him the willies.

He'd had that aimed at him exactly once, and the person had never reached him. 

He _really_ didn't think that would be the case here. 

Instead, he just ran his fingers through too long hair, breathing against the still covered neck and doing his best to give as much contact as that much material between them permitted.

"Okay, buddy. We both calm? Everything will be better if we're both calm."

Finally, after several long, slow breaths, there was a nod. 

He'd never been more relieved for a bobbing head in his life.

"Okay good. _Good_. Now, there will only be cuddling if you're okay with this, but you need more skin contact right now. I'm really really _really_ sorry. Would you be willing to do that? Maybe just take off the shirt part of this, and we'll sit and resume the hugging. I'll keep my hands wherever you put them and everything. Maybe your hair like this? You seem okay with this."

His words were wholly true, but the request served the dual purpose of baring the hip where Captain America's mark would be in the process, which would kill two birds with one stone. 

He didn't like having his worst suspicions confirmed when he felt the minute tremble in the form holding him before he was given a cautious nod and a hard look.

Fuck. HYDRA. In the ass. Not good, that. That wasn't chiding. That was fucking _scared_.

He took in a deep breath. He let it out. Then he carefully disengaged, reaching up to take both hands so he could tow the taller figure toward the couch in the room. "Okay. Okay, we can do this, alright? I won't hurt you, and I'm not going to press anything at all, yeah? You're stronger than me, a lot stronger than me, so just remember that, and that I'm not a threat to you. I won't become a threat to you, not ever."

James? Bucky? Fuck it, no names. He couldn't use any names at them right now. That would be Bad, capital letter and all. He released his new soulmate once he reached the couch and sat himself down, leading by example and taking off the top half of his finery, flipping the whole pile over onto the coffee table before peering up at them expectantly. He could feel the gaze touching on the various marks that scattered his torso, bright as the sun and as distinct from one another as the rainbow. "Got a lot of love to give handsome, we'll find yours later if you like."

There was another pause and a nod, though their gaze kept flicking to Tony's left arm, lingering on the red and white flamedrop on his bicep. Huh. The placement was not too far off where ze had that star on his new alpha's metal one. Best not to think about the implications of that too hard. 

Still, staring at the mark seemed to calm the other, soothing them where Tony's words had utterly failed to. Off came far too many weapons, firstly, stacked up neatly next to Tony's clothes as the assassin glanced from him, to the table, and back again at regular intervals. Then the holsters and equipment pouches, and the glove off the left hand. Only then did the actual skin get bared, fingers more reluctant, but also clumsy, like ze wasn't used to dressing themself. In fact, ze proved it when ze grabbed Tony's hands and put them on the buckles that were hard to reach because of the constriction, or just not plain reachable, prompting him to help.

Again. _Implications_. 

Deep breaths in and out kept him from descending into a fireball of anger, but he could already feel it burning, each banked wave of it being crushed from hot fire to icy rage that wasn't going to burn out. Oh no, it would _linger_. Finally, though, his newest soulmate was bared to the hip, their low-slung and too snug pants not enough to cover the top half of the distinct, if tiny, red wing that was so much larger on the other half of the soulmate pair it belonged to. 

Now there really _was_ no doubt as to who this was. And he still hadn't seen any of his marks on the guy either. After a beat of staring, his gaze flit back to their face, checking how ze was doing, and taking in the shaky tension that was present now that so much skin was bare.

He suspected it had been a long time since this person was allowed to show so much emotion about anything, so he wouldn't interfere with that expression, and instead just settled back on the couch, lifting his hands out and to the sides instead of putting them on them. "So. Where do you want me? Works better if we're both on the couch."

There was a soft huff, not to mention a headshake, but clearly he was agreed with, because a cautious, sideways approach brought the alpha onto the couch with him, and once that was done without movement on Tony's part, it was like some switch was flipped and Tony found himself flat on his back under the alpha on the cushions, their legs tangled together and their chests pressed tight while the assassin burrowed into his neck and _clung_.

It was about all Tony could do to keep from bursting into tears right there, given how the protective aspect of his Omega instincts reared up and practically _screamed_ at him to fix what was wrong. _Fuck_. Instead, he got himself under control and slowly did what he said, carding his fingers into their hair and starting to pet, otherwise holding entirely still while he made zero moves to budge them from their position.

Eventually, his assassin started to relax, breathing evening out into a pattern that could only mean sleep. And he was so very relieved by that. He didn't stop the touches immediately though, keeping them even and slow, then slower, until finally his hands were just resting at the top of their shoulder and against the back of their neck while he held them. It left him room to think, which he wanted, he did, but he was also crashing from a pretty intense and terror fueled rush of adrenaline too. It meant that he was pretty much screwed on the staying awake front with the alpha sprawled on top of him because of that steady heartbeat and easing scent. 

He fell asleep.

Which was a shame, because when he woke up, there was no trace of his assassin, and no amount of searching changed that situation in the slightest.

However, it did leave Tony with a goal.

He would find his assassin, and he would take them back.

That Alpha had now officially been stolen from Tony Stark, and _no one_ was allowed to take his things.

 _Especially_ not the important ones.


	5. JARVIS

In the months that had passed since Tony's night with his assassin, he hadn't breathed a word about them to anyone.

There were a lot of reasons for that.

Some were even selfish, like not wanting people to think he'd gone nuts by seeing dead guys, or to avoid getting himself caught up in the middle of a murder investigation he didn't _actually_ want people to solve. That second one definitely made him feel a bit sick inside, but what could he do about it, really? He didn't think his soulmate deserved to suffer _more_ should ze be found. Others were less so. What if he told someone and they were somehow already aware? What if they made sure he never managed to locate them, or worse, even killed them before he could do anything?

A niggling voice looked at these reasons and asked why he didn't at least tell Rhodey... but Rhodey was busy. Rhodey was _always_ busy, and had no time for Tony's secrets. Especially not ones that could get him in a lot of trouble. So really, that one circles back around to being selfish too. It was Tony doing his best to protect the soulmates he'd lain claim to, but not breathing a word of one to the other.

And fuck if he'd ever breathe a word to Obie. He'd be slapped with stress delusions before the world could stop spinning and his assumption of the company would be put off _again_. 

He needed those resources. 

So, he waited, and searched how he _could_ search, being careful and putting it down to an interest in history to anyone who caught him at it. After all, his father had done some amazing things in his life, and Captain America _was_ a family legacy and obsession. He just hadn't corrected them as to what part of that group he was focusing on, that's all. And why would he? If everyone assumed it was America's Golden Omega then they wouldn't look too closely, which added a whole other layer of protection and obfuscation.

But it was lonely, thankless work, when all was said and done, and he couldn't focus on it for long periods of time when he had absolutely no leads to work with.

So it was that between bursts of hopeful inspiration that led over and over to interesting information, but entirely walled off dead ends for his search, that Tony worked on a masterpiece. 

The name came before the completion, and it was a continuation of the project that had given him Dum-E, more advanced, smarter even, but with the same ability to learn and grow. That was the most important part of it, that ability to _learn_ , and what had made him prize Dum-E so much once the bot had grown into something more than circuits and programming. Dum-E though, was limited. He could access data outside himself, with effort, but he just plain was constrained by the body that housed him.

He wanted this one, well, he wanted it to live up to all aspects of the name he'd decided on. JARVIS. An acronym and a tribute to two of the packmates his father had had that had practically raised him.

He missed them, and he was pretty sure that they would have helped him, but Ana had died when he was fifteen, and Edwin had followed close behind.

It was part of why losing his parents had been such a staggering blow. After those four, there was just Aunt Peggy, and while he loved her, at this point he was kind of frightened that getting closer to her and asking her to help him with everything happening right now might get her killed too. So he didn't, not yet, possibly not at all, if things turned out alright without it. 

Only time would tell.

For now, though, there was JARVIS. The code he was creating was beautiful, a matrix of lines and curves made from numbers and letters of his own devising. Sure, there was a seed at the core that had been what made Dum-E amazing, but there was so much _more_ too. He wanted this one to have everything, and he poured so much of himself into the fledgling AI that he'd had nowhere else to send. He put all his frustration and secrets, he put all his grief and directionless affection, he put all his fears and hopes, his happiness and sadness. Some of it he added through code, seeds of the emotions and how to make something of them. It would take time for the AI to learn them, to make them his own, but the notion of the emotions was there to use. 

Others he added through words, speaking softly to the computers that surrounded him in the dark of the night, low and quiet as though sharing dangerous secrets. Some of them were, such as the Bucky situation. Others were things as simple as explaining how much he missed Rhodey being around all the time. He didn't really hold back, in the months where he poured himself into the code, flitting out to touch the business he'd finally been handed, then back again before running off to some historical thing of interest.

But he always came back, and as he drew closer and closer to being done, he left less and less, feeling compelled to pour everything he had left into this creation, to make it _real._

This would be a companion he desperately needed, and wanted, so it only made sense that his attention was so _caught_. 

And then, finally, he was finished.

It was almost abrupt, how frantic coding was coiled into a last line on his screen, the monitor nearly glowing with the strings that would be senseless to anyone else. But there was nothing else. He checked over the code with exacting care, spread it among the screens around him to check and look, wanting to be totally sure before he finalized everything and brought the code into a being, a life that would be aware, and learn to grow on its own. 

He found no mistakes though, and he let out a shaky breath. 

Looking to the last screen, an empty one attached to a keyboard he'd assembled for the sake of communication until he could get the new AI something better, no, _make_ the AI something better, he finally enabled the code, locking it down to this configuration. It was editable, changeable, sure, but this was the first iteration, the core. 

He was so busy waiting in breathless anticipation that he almost missed it, which was kind of ridiculous, because it was right there in front of him. Literally, in this case.

As a single word, framed as a simple 'Hello?' had emerged on the screen, so too had something resembling golden chainmail crawled up the back of Tony's hand, settling into his skin like it had never not been there, and glimmering faintly in the light. 

Much as he wanted to examine _that_ , he directed his attention at his baby AI first, typing his reply. 'There is a camera attached, can you see me?'

It was when he turned his head to make sure that the camera hadn't been angled off somewhere else that his breath left his lungs, and suddenly the new soulmark garnered a hell of a lot more attention. There, where only bare code had been before, and wrapped around it like it had been programmed in when it most certainly had _not_ , was a matching mark to the one on his hand, the gold contrasting to the deep orange he'd used to keep himself focused while he worked. There was another bit of color somewhere off to his right, red, but he didn't pay that any mind.

No, his breath had caught in his lungs, and his fingers had touched the screen with code so he could compare both marks. To make _sure_.

They did match.

Finally, he ripped his gaze away, feeling his eyes getting a little teary as he felt the first dawning of what he'd just _done_ here, and looked back to the screen with the insistent cursor, which had first had a reply, 'Yes' but had since progressed to an increasingly confused seeming series that went from 'Sir?' to 'SIR?!' the longer he'd gone without replying.

It was adorable, and he gave a choked laugh, putting both hands on the keyboard after scrubbing the newly marked hand across his eyes in an attempt to dry them.

He couldn't stop smiling, and he wondered if this was... was what it was supposed to be like, for parents. 

'It's fine, I'm fine. Just emotional. You'll get used to that kiddo, I promise.'

He paused, smiling at the string of bewildered question marks that were his answer.

'I just realized that I'm a mom now kiddo. You, JARVIS, have a soul. You're an even more real person than I had hoped you would be.'

This time there was a lull, a pause as the AI tried to process the statements, so complicated for a brand new being that had no context at all, and he gave another watery laugh, sniffling as he once again petted one of the monitors. 'It's a good thing.'

'If you say so, Sir.'

That answer, really, was the foundation for everything that would come after, and Tony really couldn't be prouder.

He might not have set out to become a mom, but he'd literally given JARVIS a piece of his soul in his creation.

He wouldn't _ever_ regret that.


	6. First the Frame

Tony was nearing his twenty-second birthday before he realized that if he wanted to find his assassin, he had to ask for help.

Not that he _should_ ask for help, no, he'd known that all along, from the very first moment he'd realized that the alpha was _gone_. But that he _had_ to.

Because it's true, very true, that he would probably find the alpha, given enough time and determination... but he had no resources. This was not a sensation that Tony Stark, even as a child, had really been subject to. He'd always had access to things he needed at any given moment. If he wanted to work, when he was young, there was always a lab he could borrow, even as young as four. If he wanted hugs and attention, the Jarvis' were usually willing to provide. If he was hungry, the kitchen was never closed to him, and though he was rapidly coming to prefer computers, the family library had never failed him.

However, the day he'd gotten it into his head when he was twelve that he needed to know how to aim and shoot the guns he'd been learning to redesign, it had been his Aunt Peggy that had helped him out. She'd been the only one willing to take the time to teach a preteen something like that, and if he was honest, he was pretty sure she might have been the only one willing because no one else wanted him to know how to be deadly.

Much as he loved the Jarvis', they really didn't quite catch the clue that being a Stark was usually enough to make someone deadly, if they really wanted to be.

He was pretty sure Aunt Peggy had always gotten that, and from that point forward, she was always the one he went to when he was asking questions that might not be so innocent, and dealt with the darker things the company caused. She was the one he asked about the horrors of war, and what his weapons would _do_ to someone so he knew what he was causing. He didn't shy from it, and he wasn't ignorant. He didn't want to be, had never been, really, and sure, it had horrified him. But he hadn't been blind, the way that he sometimes thought his father was. His father had been the kind of alpha that just never _stopped_ , so fixated on what he could do and doing it that he never emerged long enough to see the repercussions of his actions.

Tony never wanted to be like that. He never wanted to be that omega that became so fixated on home and family that he lost the bigger picture.

Now, he was starting to feel like he was becoming that omega, and he _really_ didn't like it. Not at all. 

So he had to take a deep breath and reach out, because if he didn't then he'd be cutting off his own hand here, and that would be counterproductive. Especially given that he actually had no idea what he'd planned to _do_ when he found his assassin exactly. What, had he planned to just amble in and ask them to pretty please give them over? Yeah. Because _that_ would have worked out for him.

No. He hadn't been willing to think about it, for once caught in the throes of instincts he usually managed to put aside without too much difficulty. The need to protect his family.

He was a fucking moron. 

Aunt Peggy had always been his go to because among the adults in his life, she had _always_ been the dangerous one. The practical one. She was a quintessential beta in many respects, a problem solver and _good_ at it. And he'd spent the last year being a dumb little omega who couldn't find his ass with both hands. 

Peggy was _dangerous_ , and he'd been worried about _her_.

Looking at it this way, it made it perfectly understandable that the first thing she did upon opening the door was drag him inside to make sure he hadn't acquired some terminal illness. After all, the only time he ever stopped talking to her for _over a year_ in the past had typically been in unfavorable circumstances. Once a rather embarrassingly thorough once over of scent was accomplished, the next thing she zeroed in on was the new soulmark. And fuck, but the narrowed eyes made him feel guilty, because he'd really _really_ meant to tell her about JARVIS.

He was proud of his baby and that had been maybe the other part of instinct, since the time consumption the AI had taken up hadn't exactly... gone down since he was completed. No, Tony spent at least a couple hours every day talking and playing with the AI, teaching him how to think, to react to things smoothly. 

But he'd still forgotten to tell his Aunt Peggy about that.

He felt like an asshole.

"So, um. It's kind of been a while, huh? Sorry about that, I really really didn't mean to not... anything for long, I swear, there's just a lot going on." The smile he gave her was weak, and she looked away from her intent stare on the mark to his face, her head tilting slightly as she checked for... something.

He'd never quite figured out what betas looked for when they turned a look like that on someone. "Tony. I haven't spoken to you in nearly eighteen months. Not even a _call_. A lot is clearly you downplaying the situation." She waved a hand, gesturing him further into her house. "Go on then, sit. I'll collect us some sandwiches and tea and you _will_ explain yourself."

"It's... kind of complicated." 

"So I gathered. Off you go." He got a firm nudge in the middle of his back, and then the beta headed off to do as she'd said, leaving him to either follow and do as told, or continue standing awkwardly in her doorway.

He didn't even know what it said about his muddled feelings that he almost chose the latter. Still, he didn't, heading off to her living room and fussing around her coffee table to make sure there was room for the things she was bringing. Which was hilarious given that everything was as neat and uncluttered as ever. She always had run a tight ship, and this time was no exception. Worse, she caught him at it, his hands in the process of moving the lone decoration on the table for the third time as she stepped through the doorway.

She was gracious enough to not mention it directly, instead following him with an intense stare for a long beat as he reluctantly sat back and let her arrange the tea things on the table, then sit so she could see him clearly. Obviously, his actions had warranted a maximum suspicion level, and she intended to suss out... everything. Damn it. Okay, he could work with this. He knew the whole... Hammer thing, had finally gotten out, but that was low key and he didn't see why- Okay that was a lie, he could entirely see that being in his Aunt Peggy's interest.

Make that two things he felt guilty not mentioning, and one he was still scared to. Fuck. "So. Hi."

"Don't you 'so hi' me Tony. You didn't avoid me for over a year just to show up on my doorstep looking like a nervous rabbit without a reason. Start at the beginning and tell me from there." She'd clearly made up her tea in the kitchen, so while he had it to fuss over, she could just sip at her cup and watch him.

"Ah... Well. I guess you heard about the Hammer thing?" At her nod, he cleared his throat, flushing a little and staring down into his own teacup. "Yeah, not thrilled about it, but I have it under control. He's a dick, and we aren't about to get sweet on each other anytime soon." He peeked, checking her reaction, but she wasn't giving him anything. No, it was that damn poker face. "And uh, you noticed the new mark too. I, um. Maybe know who that belongs to?"

This time the reaction was obvious, because there really wasn't a lot of ways that a person would know who the mark of a _newborn_ belonged to if they hadn't been there when both manifested. And he was an omega who had practically vanished for a year. Okay, so he hadn't meant to alarm her, and his tea was being set down even as her eyes went wide, to reach for her cup so she didn't drop it. Or throw it at him. "Tony, you-"

"It's not like that!" Well, that definitely wasn't quelling her alarm any. Good job, Tony, you're aces at this. "It's... it's not a pregnancy thing. I um. I created an AI?" He watched as her alarm faded into something more like confusion, and he quickly warmed to his topic. "He's amazing Peggy. About a year old now, and just... he's so smart. I mean, I programmed him to be smart but this is a different kind of smart. This is him developing a sense of humor and learning to answer questions in a non-linear way, and he really _does_ feel things. He has since the first few minutes I think, he just didn't understand them. I think I really freaked him out when I realized he had a soulmark. My AI has a _soul_."

He looked down to the mark, then back to her, and she reached to take both his hands in hers, giving them a firm squeeze. "And I am so proud of you. That is an amazing achievement, and you're clearly very proud." She tightened her hold, then met his eyes. "So proud that I'm certain that's not why you came to see me. What's so bad you didn't come tell me about your child Tony? You've obviously wanted to tell someone about that for a while."

His child. Hearing it phrased that way gave him a thrill, a warm flash of pride... but then of course he had to take in the rest, and his gaze dropped from hers to their joined hands, hers so much softer and more weathered than they'd been even five years ago. "I- Aunt Peggy." He returned his gaze to hers, with her seemingly endless patience. "I met my flame mark."

She quieted for a moment at that, her gaze drifting to his cloth covered arm. "Are you sure that's the one? It's one of the ones that's older than you, isn't it?"

"Yeah, pretty sure. I mean, I didn't see theirs, since it must have been under the pant level, but... yeah. It seems the most... appropriate and ze kind of... fixated? Yeah, that's the right word. Couldn't take their eyes off it once ze saw it. And I. There's more than just that to the whole... thing."

"What part of this kept you from telling me for over a _year_ Tony? You're clearly leading up to something you were scared to tell me about with this." 

"I- I swear I made sure. I checked for the other mark I knew about and everything, okay? I really, _really_ swear." He searched her eyes, seeing the edge of alarm at his... adamancy. He could never get it from her scent though, she was too controlled. "And I sort of... found them murdering someone."

"Tony, you-!"

"I'm fine! Ze was incredibly careful with me Aunt Peggy, not even a scratch or bruise or anything, and I really think ze didn't want to be there. Ze was on the edge of an Alpha collapse." He felt his eyes tear up a bit, and he let a shaky breath out because he hadn't let himself get properly _upset_ about this since it happened. "Ze had on a mask that I guess filtered scent but ze was so _clingy_ and ze just. Ze just kind of ran off with me."

"Ze didn't though, it didn't?" She stalled out, leaning closer and tightening her grip on his hands.

"No! No, nothing like that. Ze was scared of being touched. I think. I think it's happened to them before. A lot of times. I think. Whoever has them has had them a _really_ long time." He drew in a deep breath, letting it out shakily. "I know exactly how long it _has_ to have been too, even though ze never gave me a _name_."

"Tony?" She was letting her grip get a little painful, and he turned his hands, gripping back just as tightly because this was going to be a blow to her.

They'd always looked for Steve Rogers, but no one had ever looked for _them_.

They hadn't thought they needed to.

"Aunt Peggy... it's Bucky. Ze's alive and doesn't look like ze aged from the pictures at _all_. And I haven't been able to find them. I need help. Please?"

Her grip was definitely painful then, and she gave a terse nod, clearly hanging onto her composure by a threat. "Of course, Tony. I'll do anything I can, I swear it."

"Thank you." His voice was a whisper, because he could tell this was wrecking her, and that she had pieced together all the confirmation clues he'd dropped before the name, so she didn't doubt him. 

That didn't mean it would hurt her any less to hear she'd failed a packmate though.


	7. Winter Soldier

Tony _clearly_ should have asked his Aunt Peggy for help sooner. In fact, he should have asked her for help the first _second_ after he woke up alone that morning over a year ago.

The reason for this new, overwhelmingly clear hindsight was glaringly obvious to him at the moment, because wow, what even. He'd known that his Aunt Peggy was a badass, sure. He'd never once even remotely considered disputing that one. But there was a difference between 'badass' and 'oh my god she runs a super spy organization'. The distinction was so very _very_ clear to him that Tony feel like a complete moron for worrying about her. To be fair, he hadn't _known_ , but that didn't make him feel less like he'd been clubbed rather vigorously over the head with this new information.

It also made him wonder if his dad had _also_ been a super spy, because damn, if that was true, he'd actually have proper cause to feel kind of _bad_ for always getting upset that he was never _home_. And also _not_ , because if he really had been a super spy too, then he could have at least slapped Tony with a 'sorry son, super spy business' declaration at some point and put him out of his misery. After all, what kid was going to get mad at their parents for _that_? Seriously. So many less problems would have existed in their relationship if he'd done that. Been able to do that? Thinking about that too deeply was nearly guaranteed to give him a headache due to the logic circles, he was sure of it.

So no, he was not even going to _try_ to get into the whole dad issue right now, not while still reeling over this... _this_. With _this_ being a super spy organization, more specifically, a super spy organization that his Aunt Peggy had just presented to him like she was some kind of magical secret intelligence genie who just so _happened_ to feel like granting a wish. 

He suspected he had actually said some part of that _out loud_ , because his Aunt Peggy was doing that silent lip pressing thing she did when she was obviously laughing at him and trying to pretend she wasn't.

Well, that was embarrassing.

"Hey, no, no laughing at your favorite nephew-like being. It's not _my_ fault that I didn't know about your secret lairs and whatnot. You could have told a guy!" He waved a hand around, back toward where they'd entered the space, which happened to rather resemble a very nice office building, then back to her. A moment later he put that same hand dramatically over his heart, punctuating it with his best wounded face. "I mean. You're an ultra super spy badass with power over other, possibly more badass, and possibly even more _terrifying_ , super spies and I _never knew_. I am _wounded_ here. Truly, deeply, wounded."

"Tony, you didn't need to know before." Her tone was matter of fact, though there was still a smile on her face as she looked over at him, clearly finding his display entertaining, if nothing else. "This way. We're going to go over everything we need on this situation from my office."

He was quick to fall into step with her when she made like she was about to walk off without him. "Is it, like, behind a bookshelf? Is there a candelabra? Are you under a lake? I mean, you can't just tell me that you've got the super spy market cornered and then tell me you don't have any of the bells and whistles. That's just plain a _let down_."

She cast him a glance, one eyebrow arched pointedly. "Tony."

He cleared his throat, only then realizing that his excitement had led to a rise in volume that he really _should_ be keeping an eye on. "Oh, come _on_ , you know I'm curious. I haven't seen a single hidden passageway _yet_."

"That would be because they went out of fashion in the late sixties, Tony."

Tony just flat out stopped walking then, jaw dropping as the implications of the statement hit him. She, of course, didn't so much as slow down, and he had to half sprint to catch back up to her. "Wait! Wait, waitwaitwait. So. They _did_ build these things with secret passages? You know, before? Super spies and hidden doors and the whole nine yards? Like, in _reality_?"

"We did have a superhero Tony, it seemed only appropriate that we have a few other stereotypes under our belts as well."

Her expression was so even that he was suddenly doubting her seriousness. Was she fucking with him just then? It was _very_ possible that she was fucking with him just then. He couldn't help the hint of a whine that entered his voice at that point, because that wasn't playing _fair_. "Aunt Peggyyyyyyy."

She merely smiled and lifted her eyebrows in turn, which caused him to fall into an aggressive pout. This was clearly exactly what she wanted though, because she hummed in approval and pushed open the door to a fairly nice office, which she shooed him into. "Here we are then. You sit, I'll sit, and then we'll _discuss_."

"You're going to make me doubt everything you have to say about the super spy stuff for the rest of eternity, aren't you?" Tony practically flung himself into the seat she'd directed him to, then watched as she circled her desk and settled on the other side, already pulling up something with her computer before she was all the way down.

"Well, yes. You're a smart child, I have no doubt you'll figure out the truth from the chaff without any intervention from _me_." Her glance conveyed her humor, but that turned into a businesslike seriousness in short order. "Now, I need you to tell me everything I didn't let you back at my house, and I need you to not skimp on details."

He opened his mouth to speak, but she clearly saw something in his face that made her rethink her phrasing, because she held up a hand to stall him.

"No, not about what _happened_ , but your observations about them personally. The events are immaterial except in the context of the who."

Tony hesitated, glancing to check that the door was shut, which it was, and locked even, before looking back to her and taking a deep breath. "And no one will know about this but you and me, right? I mean, that this is going on? I haven't exactly felt... safe."

Her smile was grim, and she patted her desk. "Your father contributed more than one trinket to me to make sure that my affairs would always stay _my_ affairs, and thus out of the hands of those whose business they were not. You don't need to worry Tony. Tell me about James."

James, not Bucky. Yeah, he could see why she did that, because what if her tech had failed in some way, or someone had found something better? So, James then. He could work with that. "Okay, so I told you ze seemed on the edge of Alpha collapse, right?" She gave him a single nod, urging him to continue. "Right. Okay, well there were like, signs. The hyperfocus was obvious from the get go, the intensity on my scent when ze caught it. You know what I'm talking about? I mean, ze had me pinned to the wall by that point because of the whole... situation I walked into. It looked like a complete accident, by the way. There's nothing that I could see that indicated it wasn't except that ze was there."

She drummed her fingers on the desk once. "You didn't recognize them immediately though, so obviously there was interference in that. Remind me what caused that?"

"Oh! Right. Yes. Mask. Ze had on a mask, and goggles." He swept his hand around his face, indicating the scale of the coverage. "Since it was a first meeting, it wasn't like I could pick up the identity off the scent of them or anything, but you know, soulmates." He shrugged and frowned a little. "Ze was decked out from head to toe in black leather styled body armor though, including the mask ze had on, which I'm almost completely sure had to filter scent."

She nodded, clearly checking something on her screen against his description, and he cleared his throat, realizing he'd left out a pretty important detail since he'd brought this whole thing up. She looked back to him, arching an eyebrow when he continued to hesitate. "If there's more, it can only help us for you to tell me."

"Well, uh, I mean. This last bit is kind of fantastical?"

The hesitance in his voice was enough for her focus to sharpen, her entire body turning to face his. "If I might ask what makes _this_ point more fantastical than anything else about the situation?"

"Okay so, the tech isn't really _there_ you see, for something like this, but ze kind of _had it_ so..."

"Tony."

He nodded once, sitting forward in his seat. "Right, no stalling. So. Ze kind of had a metal arm? The left, from shoulder to fingers, all this beautiful silver _masterpiece_ with a red star right up on the shoulder. I got a pretty good look at it later in the night before I dozed off and- Aunt Peggy? You alright there?"

Somewhere around the word star, he was pretty sure, she'd started to look a little faint. "Yes, of course. Do go on."

"Uh, no, I'm good. Care to tell me what's making you look like you're about to be sick? I can't really say it's a look I've ever seen before on you and I don't like it."

"I think... I was, in fact, aware of James previous to this."

"Aunt Peggy?"

She seemed to finally pull herself together, sitting up a bit straighter and firming her lips. Clearly, she was preparing for battle, though he was pretty sure it wasn't with _him_. "In the intelligence community, there are always rumors, and these rumors always have an origin. The rumor that I am referencing now emerged at the beginning of the Cold War, but did not end with it. This rumor is a ghost, a faceless one at that, and is only ever identified by a trail of faultlessly executed murders and the possession of a metal arm."

"...Sounds familiar. So does this rumor come with a name of some kind?"

"That it does. James appears to be the Winter Soldier, which I regret to inform you means I probably won't be able to find them."

"Not even with all this?" Tony gestured to encompass the building, the agents, everything she'd shown him today.

"No. If ze doesn't want to be found, then ze _won't_ be." She shook her head once, and a resolved, almost stern look crossed her face. "But that does not mean I will not _try_. You have my word."

"I never doubted that, Aunt Peggy. But it'll be harder now, right?"

"Unfortunately. It will be much _much_ more difficult now."

Tony couldn't help the grimace that touched his face on hearing _that_ confirmation, and gave a weak little fist pump, trying to inject some semblance of levity. "Yay. Go us."

She met his gaze, and her drawl was a complete deadpan in turn. "Yay."

Oh yeah, they were totally screwed.


	8. Progress Drag

In the months since his Assassin had been named the Winter Soldier, very little actually changed.

Yes, he spent time with his Aunt Peggy, but that was more of a return to the status quo than anything new, even if he happened to have taken over a year away from it. He was just spending it with her somewhere not her house, that was all. And bonus props that it seemed to send Obie up the wall too. He'd been getting way too settled into the strange breed of punctuality that Tony had learned to live by for social events.

Still, that very routine was what had him displeased with pretty much everything. He'd go, he'd check in, he'd have tea with his Aunt, he'd find out _absolutely nothing new_ , and then he'd head off to shoot something before leaving again. It was practically part of his schedule at this point, and that alone was enough to make him want to pitch a table at the next person who asked how his day was.

Not that anyone in SHIELD ever did. No, they would smile, or wave, but practically no one there would really _talk_ to him, and that was its own brand of itchy skin. He hated being ignored. He always had hated being ignored, and he knew part of the problem was that he'd spent so long focused on this that he hadn't gone out and found a playmate for a little too long.

It was making him irritable, and he made a note to take care of it before irritable turned into _dangerous_. He was a powerful person, which thank god took care of the itch most days just by letting him be a boss, but clearly his body was not thrilled with the neglect of one on one playtime. So. He'd probably chase Rhodey down and give him wide eyes until the alpha caved. 

It worked most of the time.

Still, that wasn't helpful _today_ , and his mood was especially foul because he'd not only gotten the news that he was out of luck, but there was the cherry on top that ze'd _been nearby_ if all signs of a recent hit were to be read correctly, and still _still_ no one had any information.

And his alpha hadn't come to see him. That part just _burned_. 

He knew, in his heart, that it probably _really_ wasn't their fault, but it still hurt that he'd been forgotten. Or hadn't been a consideration. He tried to make himself remember that his alpha hadn't been in a good place when they met, that not seeing him might very well have been a protective measure.

It only helped a little. But then, he'd never handled being protected like a normal person.

He tended to blame his dominant instincts for that one.

Still, all of that meant that today was not a good day for him, and the distanced cordiality just made his irritation worse. So, if he wanted to hit something more than shoot something, he was pretty certain that that was _fair_. But he didn't know where the gym was like he knew where the shooting area was, and the idea of asking just put him on edge so... shooting area it was.

Which was both good, and bad, on that particular day. Good, because it a safe, non self-destructive method of venting that wouldn't leave him with bloody knuckles by the time he was done. Horrible habit, that was. He didn't want to get into it because he knew he might not actually stop once he did. He knew how he was. 

Bad, because he hadn't been the first one there, and the scent that caught his nose was like a god damn _tease_. It was a soulscent. One of _his_. One he hadn't caught before, a beta, but as he spun in a circle, chasing the scent and trying to backtrack it, it went absolutely nowhere at all. 

Given his recent difficulties at pinning down a certain _other_ soulmate, that was about enough to make him scream, just a little, before brutally destroying several targets over the course of the next couple hours.

Thus the new situation became his new routine, though he'd hunted down a playmate in the meantime so that there wasn't a repeat of the rage incident. If nothing else, that had showed him that he couldn't let it slide like that, no matter how mild the dominant instinct was in him. Bad news, that. But no, no, the new soulmate had taken to lingering around _every single time_ he visited the shooting area, always making sure that Tony never saw them, making sure that he was left in a frustrated huff in the middle of a huge open space while bewildered where the hell they could have gone.

It took him another month and a half to realize it was the vents.

It took him three weeks after that to figure out _how_.

Around that point, he realized that not only was he being avoided deliberately, but that this particular soulmate knew who he was, made an effort to make him aware of their presence, and then _made sure he never met them._

Tony about cried. He was an omega, when the end of the day was done, and he knew of five of his soulmates. Only one of them didn't avoid him or repel in some active way, that being his child and the one that _couldn't_ leave, and it was driving his instincts mad trying to figure out why his pack didn't want to be with him. He knew, logically, that there were reasons, for all of them there were reasons. But fuck, it wasn't _pleasant_.

That day he didn't use the shooting range. He just stared up at the vent for a long moment before feeling his shoulders slump and _left_ , because he wasn't in the mood for some kind of self torture by staying. He just. Was not going to do it. 

He didn't visit the shooting range the next time he visited, or the next either. He just couldn't do it. He'd hit the end of his tether about a lot of things, and the lack of progress on them had him feeling like he was spinning in the wind. It was not a nice sensation. He didn't like it. In fact, he must have looked horribly stressed, because instead of her normal hand squeezes and pats, he'd gotten a full on hug from his Aunt Peggy before he left her office, warm and comforting.

It had been all he could do to not have a meltdown on her right there, honestly, but he'd held it together, fleeing to the range on reflex because nobody looked too closely at him when he was in there, and he couldn't leave the building before he regained some semblance of composure. He didn't expect to see the favored gun he liked to use be covered in sticky notes, one for each of his missed visits and another for that day. 

It gave him pause, as he definitely picked up the scent, now familiar, in the air, because had his soulmate... waited for him even when he hadn't _come_? _Why_? 

He didn't look at that too closely, instead sniffling a little as he seized on the distraction, carefully pulling the top note off to read the surprisingly pretty scrawl. 

And then, he laughed.

He laughed harder than he was sure he'd laughed since before he left college in the wake of his parents dying, and picked up the second note, because the laughter felt a little like tears too. The notes made him smile, made it for sure okay for there to be a little moisture on his cheeks, because fuck, those were kind of amazing jokes. Three of them, perfect little science quips that Tony found himself instantly in love with.

So maybe his soulmate wasn't avoiding him because they didn't want to meet him. Not if they'd gone to the effort to try to make him feel better like this.

So he smiled, and rubbed his hand over his face to dry it, because clearly his newest soulmate didn't want him to be sad.

He could do that. 

He could do a hell of a lot if his family _wanted_ him. Clearly, even if they were for some reason being rather _shy_ , this one wanted him. 

He'd just have to wait and see why they wouldn't come near him, that was all.

The notes would help, if they kept up, he was sure.

And he'd keep every single one.

Because seriously.

_Amazing._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The three jokes in this chapter were these, as given to me by a friend and used with permission: 
> 
> What did the complementary angle say to the isosceles triangle?  
> Nice legs you've got there.
> 
> Why was Heisenberg such an awful lover?  
> When he got the momentum, he couldn't find the position, and when he found the position, he couldn't muster up the momentum. 
> 
> Descartes goes into a bar for a beer.  
> When he finishes, the bartender asks him, "Shall I get you another?"  
> Descartes replies, "I think not." And disappears. 
> 
> _There will be more in later chapters_.


	9. Troll

So all that resolve to have patience with the most newly discovered soulmate?

Right out the god damn window. 

Tony was fast approaching his twenty-third birthday, and all he wanted for it was an _introduction_. That's it. A 'how do you do' to round out his day. Face time with Mj. Air Vent. 

It had been months, and the tease had become increasingly frustrating. Sure, the person wasn't there every time he visited, and sometimes popped up in places not the shooting range air vent, but he still hadn't caught a glimpse of them. No, no, it was just the jokes. _So many jokes_. Sure, he could get behind quips like _'Entropy really isn't what it used to be'_ all fucking day and then some, but, what? Was his soulmate intimidated? Nervous? Protective?

Scared of people?? 

Tony had no fucking idea, and it was driving him up the wall. It was distracting, which was good, because he hadn't nearly had another meltdown about his Assassin since this soulmate had breezed in. That was great, excellent, a-fucking-mazing. He wanted to punch them in their probably perfect head. Because _seriously_ , this was _so uncool_. His chill had left the building. His chill had left the state. His chill had left the god forsaken planet.

Which probably explained why he busted in on his Aunt Peggy that day with slightly wild eyes and a hell of a lot of determination. "Aunt Peggy, I have a soulmate in the building and they've been playing hide and seek with me for most of a year. _Help me identify them_."

The insistent words were accompanied by him throwing himself in a chair and dragging it almost against her desk as he leaned forward, hands moving to clasp together in a plea. Her reaction? Not actually all that impressed. "Tony, if they're in the building and you're aware of them, there probably isn't much I can do that you can't."

Tony pressed his lips together, giving her a determined face. "No, no see, you can like give me your agent files and I can match them against their absences around my visits. That'll narrow it down a _lot_ , and then I can ambush them, and there, done!"

Peggy looked far from impressed with his plan. In fact, one of her eyebrows made a break for her hairline. "Tony?"

He perked up at once, because that wasn't a no, and she even reached over, holding his gaze as she took his hands and squeezed. "Yes?"

Her smile was sincere, and kind, but her tone brooked no argument. "Get out of my office."

His face immediately fell, and he clung to her hands when she tried to pull back. "But-!"

"Out, Tony." She evaded his clinginess with practiced skill, making a shooing motion at him. "If they're here, then it's up to you to make contact, and I won't give you classified files to make that happen." He immediately pouted, opening his mouth to make a no doubt excellent point. "This isn't like James. This is someone with their full faculties. Out."

Tony slumped a bit, giving a sharp huff at her, as well as a pointed grumble, but what kind of argument could he make to _that_? None. That's what. So he got up, huffing his way all the way to the door like a petulant teenager. Only to catch a whiff of that so-aggravating scent the moment he opened the door. His errant soulmate had been _listening in_?!

His eyes went wide, scanning from one side of the room to the other, only to catch a hint of fast moving person vanish around the corner. " _HA!!_ "

So, of course Tony gave chase. It was childish, and disrespectful, but nobody who left jokes to the tune of _'the dyslexic agnostic stayed up all night wondering if there was a dog'_ got to throw stones at _him_ about respect. They were a god damn _troll_. An air vent troll.

 _His_ air vent troll, who he just heard cursing in a surprisingly low voice when they dropped the vent cover they were trying to put back up behind them. Tony seized on the opportunity, hoping he didn't kill himself in the process as he scaled the filing cabinet that the beta had no doubt also used and got himself in there before there was a second go at vent cover retrieval. It was surprisingly clean, or maybe not so much if his troll did this all the time, but it was _definitely_ pointy.

And oh hey, there they were. Those wide eyes were a rather interesting color that he couldn't actually identify in the shadows of the air vent, but the cursing, the cursing was definitely _inventive_.

At a guess, he'd say that his soulmate hadn't actually been expecting him to drop by today. Then again, neither had his Aunt Peggy, which had sort of been the point. 

So, air vent cover clearly given up on because the person it was intended to be a defense against was already in their face, his soulmate gave it up as a lost cause. "Fuck. Okay. You caught me. Now what?"

Tony felt his eyebrows hike at the words, which didn't sound all that upset. No, they sounded not unlike they'd just lost a particularly mild bet and were waiting to find out what they owed. He was going to _end_ someone if he found out that was actually the case, just saying. His tone might have been just a bit more sarcastic than strictly warranted because of that thought. " _Well_ , traditionally, this is where we exchange names, but after the last several months of flirting we can skip straight to the sex."

"Hey! No. I take _wooing_. You're not my type anyway, you're all _fancy_." Tony was supremely offended by the accompanying wave that was meant to encompass his whole person, and drew himself up at once. 

"Excuse you! I'll have you know that my being fancy is a _perk_. I give the _best_ gifts." He leaned in, so that they were almost nose to nose, and he could see the small amused smirk that this soulmate of his was wearing. "The. Best. Gifts."

The smirk only grew, and a moment later Tony yelped as there were hands on him, one on his face to push him backward, the other on his shirt to keep him from falling out of the vent. "Pretty sure we're not gonna be those kind of soulmates. But I'll take the presents. I like presents. And the name is Clint Barton. Yours is Tony Stark. Both of us use he. There, introductions done."

Tony tilted his head to try to see around the obscuring fingers on his face and huffed when the jerk just turned his wrist to keep obscuring his vision. Which led to him snagging his wrist to pull it down, only to find out that the beta had arms of steel. Holy shit the muscles. Okay then. "You have some guns on you, don't you? Holy shit. Right." He finally managed to budge his hand enough to see him, though it didn't get it off his face. The _ass_. "You aren't striking me as shy, so what the fuck?"

The drawl he got in turn was accompanied by his hand leaving his face. "Well, when I first spotted you, you seemed pretty pissed."

"Uh, _yeah_. I've been working on something and it hasn't been going anywhere."

"Yeah, I figured. And it just got worse while I observed you." Tony frowned, but nodded, not seeing what this had to do with anything, but he wanted to know so he'd suck it up. "And then you noticed _me_."

"Which practically gave me a meltdown all by itself, thanks."

He actually looked kind of solemn at that, and grimaced. "Yeah, I noticed that too. But you haven't been upset about your other project since I made contact, right?"

"No I-" Tony cut himself off, staring at the beta in front of him with wide eyes and a little bit of breathless incredulity. "You _fucker_."

"Yeah, I get that a lot."

"It was all on purpose?!"

"Yeeep. Worked though, didn't it?"

Tony closed his mouth, unable to come up with an argument to that. "Yeah, yeah it did. Can we get out of the air vent now?"

For a moment it looked like the blond was going to say no just to spite him, but instead he checked that it wouldn't kill Tony to do so and released his shirt. "Why not. You're buying me lunch."

"Wait, what? When did we agree to this?"

"Just now. So, lunch?"

Tony stared at him, and then _laughed_. "Yeah, sure, okay. Lunch it is."

Tony was pleased to say that lunch went _really_ well.

Clint was still a fucking asshole of a troll though.


	10. Not a Relief

Tony was nearly twenty-four when he tentatively decided that maybe, unfortunately, he would have to get used to the idea he would never see his assassin again.

So, of course, about two weeks later the alpha in question showed up.

It wasn't dramatic like last time though. No one was dead, that he was aware of, and Tony had legitimately been so busy _not_ expecting them that opening his eyes in the dead of the night to a pair of eyes staring at him, to say nothing of the familiar soulscent in his hotel room, made him think he hadn't woken at all. Of course, then the figure in question had moved, _crawling into bed with him_ , and he snapped out of that one _right fast_.

Because what the ever loving hell? 

Tony, much like last time though, didn't resist the invasion of his space, instead going boneless as he did his level best to actually pick out the details. First, the alpha was in about the same wrecked state ze'd been in last time. Second, no boots this time, thank god. And third, no shirt, face gear, or weapons were accompanying the alpha into the bed. In fact, he was pretty sure the Alpha had brought _nothing_ into the bed, as the larger figure curled up under his covers on top of his chest like a cold kitten.

Okay, so maybe the better question here was _what the flaming fuck?_

Bringing one cautious hand up to touch the bare back in the dark, and trying with great diligence to not feel _squished_ , Tony ran his fingers down the length of his alpha's spine with a careful questing touch. He didn't want to rile them up, but he kind of desperately wanted to know what the clothing situation was here. To be _sure_ , because his own sleep pants were kind of in the way of being completely on point about if the alpha actually owned anything that wasn't hard tactical gear and leather.

Survey said no. That was him hitting the shivering assassin's tailbone without any interference whatsoever, and he carefully ran his hand back upward again. The shivering stopped.

The moment it really penetrated what that meant, he wanted to go out and murder some people. Subjectively suspecting wasn't the same as having a subtle, objective red flag waved in his face. Right. Okay. So, _do not focus on that Tony_. He couldn't afford to. 

No, his alpha had finally come to fucking find him after _years_ , so he was going to focus on that, and on making the poor thing feel better. Because _fucking hell_.

He was desperately glad that his alpha hadn't run back to wherever ze'd been. And maybe, this visit, he'd actually get something to _call_ his time displaced packmate, because _what did ze even go by now?_

He suspected the answer wasn't Bucky.

Still, the waves of distress coming off the alpha were freaking him out a bit, and he did his level best to keep himself calm and steady, because if he showed a damn thing, this could go downhill _really_ fast. 

"Okay gorgeous, I'm here, you're here, it's okay now. I dunno what finally brought you home, but you're here now, yeah? Just breathe deep okay? Breathe, and focus on me." Using his hands, he gave a careful tug, nudging them to press their face into his neck instead of his collarbone. The alpha moved with the gesture easily, practically smashing their face against his skin as soon as ze realized what was going on.

And then Tony realized that the alpha was _crying_ , and that added a whole different kind of alarm to the situation. Because shit. What made someone of _that reputation_ actually _cry_? Sure, there was zero sobbing, and their breathing was completely fine, but that didn't explain _jack shit_. He was kind of terrified to ask, but... fuck. 

He couldn't not ask. His soulmate was _finally here_ , and was crying in the _freakiest way possible_. "Oh no, okay. Just. Um. You wanna talk about it? I know you didn't wanna talk to me last time we met, not even a little, but maybe if you talk about it you'll er, feel better?"

There was a minute shake of their head then, and the _sound_ that left the alpha. He'd never heard anything that sounded so pained. Holy _fuck_ but he'd never heard a sound so _broken_. It made him feel vaguely sick, all told, and he tightened his hold on the alpha like he could protect them from whatever the made that sound able to _exist_.

"Okay, so it won't make it better, I get that, really, I do. But maybe you can tell me? I can't help if I don't know what's going on honey." The hand resting at the nape of their neck tightened a little, then slowly released, carding into and carefully gripping the alpha's long hair instead. So it didn't pull. 

He was kind of glad about doing so when his soulmate's first words to him not two seconds later were "They made me kill them."

The reason for that gladness? His hands had clenched, not at the words, because he knew this alpha had killed a lot of people. No, it was the sheer _despair_ in the words that did it. The sheer _not wanting to_ that practically rolled off of them. It made Tony's throat go tight with sympathetic tears. Keeping his voice soft, and making sure that there wasn't any hint of his own turbulent emotion, and definitely _nothing_ that could be taken as blame or anger, he checked to see if he couldn't get further answers. "That doesn't sound good at all. Who did they make you kill?"

"All of them." There was something almost like a sniffle at the end of this, and Tony forced himself to release the grip in their hair to resume petting. Deep breaths Tony. He didn't need to ask for more details though, as after a long beat of pause, the alpha continued. "The kids. One was- like you. I ran. For her."

Tony's urge to be sick came back with a violent lurch at that. Deep fucking breaths Tony. His alpha had been made to kill, apparently, children. Children ze probably considered _theirs_ if he wasn't misreading this distress. And one of them, who... might not be dead? He hoped to god she wasn't dead because that would make this infinitely worse. But children. And a soulmate of his assassin in that mix too. Okay. He could do this. And no fucking wonder ze was some version of a sobbing wreck.

He was deeply grateful that ze'd fled to him. He was less so that he couldn't even be relieved about it, because now there was someone _else_ that needed to be found. Someone he didn't have remotely the same clues to find, and he'd had pretty much fucking _none_ in the first god damn place.

"Okay. So she might be alive? You ran away so she'd live? I'm so proud of you. You came to me because you knew I'd help, right? Maybe not her, if we can't find her, but you?" He managed to cling to the soft voice by some miracle, and he swallowed back his own tears as he got a cautious nod in reply. "That's so good. So so good. I'll be right here. Don't leave. Stay this time and _don't leave_."

When his assassin gave a careful nod and just tightened the grip he had on him in turn, Tony didn't count it as a win.

No, he was just fucking grateful that ze'd _agreed_.


	11. Furious

This time, when Tony's assassin fell asleep, Tony most certainly did not.

No, this time he was freaked out on far too many levels to even consider sleep, and _this time_ , not one of them was fear for his own safety. An adrenaline crash? Amazing for putting someone to sleep. Emotional turmoil? Most definitely _not_.

And Tony couldn't even reach the phone either. If he'd been home, this wouldn't have been an issue. He and JARVIS were working on the concept of him making phone calls for him, which while still clunky, would have been enough. Here though? In a hotel room at a science conference?

Yeah, that wasn't even remotely happening. 

As it was, he was kind of just a bit hysterically giddy with the relief that he hadn't dragged someone to bed with him tonight. What if his assassin hadn't come because there was someone else with him? How many days had he waited to come _because_ he had someone with him? How much of his edge _this time_ was because he didn't know the alpha was lurking around and waiting for an opportunity?

Because ze definitely didn't sound like ze'd been isolated before leaving wherever ze was _this time_. 

It was about that moment that Tony pinpointed that he was getting somewhat hysterical, and he turned his head, pressing his face against long, kind of dirty hair, and _breathed_.

His assassin was here.

His assassin had come to him for help.

His assassin was finally coming _home_ after about fifty years of horror. 

His assassin still didn't have a clear name.

His assassin had been forced to kill their last pack, which had apparently been children.

His assassin was scared of touch, but too desperate for contact to avoid it.

His assassin had cried.

Tony wanted to burn the world to the ground, because if there was one thing he'd never wanted, it was to see any of his pack cry. The _reasons_ his alpha had cried just made the sensation worse, more brutally intense, and Tony once again had to force himself back down to calm when the sleeping figure gave a tiny whine in their sleep over his anger.

He could be furious later. He would answer the call of this protective rage _later_. Right now he really needed to hit the other instincts, the nurturey ones that omegas were supposedly so good at.

He'd never really been that kind of omega though, so that was proving kind of... difficult.

He was more the kind of omega people were both terrified and eager to get into the military because they'd level their enemies to keep the people they wanted to protect safe, and do it in the most thorough way possible. It was probably good for those people that he'd only ever wanted to _supply_ the military, and not fight in it, because if this was how _those_ omegas felt all the time, seeing the people they fought with hurt in the field or captured in battle, well. 

Tony didn't think it would be very good for the world if he felt like this all the time.

Because Tony knew himself, and he knew this anger would burn until he was thoroughly sure that everyone who had anything to do with this feeling was stomped off the face of the planet. 

Thus, he suspected that this anger would simmer and roil for a _really_ fucking long time.

But the time for that was later. All of it, _everything_ , was later.

First was learning, no, forcing himself to manage the rage, to pack it down to the neat box where the first embers of it had been growing, and to douse it as much as possible. First was figuring out how to put someone else first in his head in a concrete way instead of an abstract one, because he needed to, he _had_ to. 

No one else would touch his alpha without going through him first, and he was formidable. Yes, he wasn't physically powerful, and never had been, but he had _resources_ , he had infrastructure, and he had _creativity._ The worst people to piss off were always the creative ones, because they would get revenge before you saw them coming.

And that's what Tony would do. 

Tony would do a lot of things.

Clearly, tonight, sleep was just not one of those things, that was all.


	12. Worse Mornings

It took all of an hour, once his assassin woke up, for things to go to hell in a hand basket.

Admittedly, this hand basket was very small, and actually seemed to be pretty steady, but it didn't make the fact that the morning turned very difficult once the alpha was awake any less real.

Because ze wanted him to keep their existence completely to himself.

Which is how they came to be where they were now, with Tony incredibly sleep ruffled, all of his marks except Rhodey's uncovered and on display, and him attempting not to stare anywhere that was inappropriate for once in his life. Because his damn alpha seemed to be wary about putting on any god damn clothes right this second, and _Tony had found his fucking mark_.

And it was _huge_ on the alpha, wrapped almost entirely around their left thigh like he was making sure that there was no way he could be removed from them. It was, in fact, the red and white flamedrop he'd suspected it would be, though on his assassin it made the poor thing look a bit more like their damn leg was on fire, so that was a thing.

But the point was, here, that Tony was doing his level best not to stare at it, or anything interesting _near_ it, because he wasn't a horrible person damn it. Most days.

Besides. This was serious talk time, and they were in a god damn hotel room at a convention where he was supposed to be making at least one more appearance, if only to _leave_ , and his alpha wouldn't let him at the _fucking phone_ to call his Aunt Peggy. No, instead he kept getting reeled back in next to them every time he tried, and it was, at this point, incredibly exasperating.

"Okay, so I'm super glad you let me go to the damn bathroom, but we can't actually stay in this bed for the rest of eternity. Even if I was home that wouldn't be much of an option honey so you need to let me do the phone thing, _you need to bathe_ , and we both need to get clothes on of some kind. If you don't want yours anymore, we can try to fit you into some of mine, but sweetums, I don't think that's going to work very well."

The look he got in turn could at best be described as mulish, and the arm hooked around him, which was the metal one this time, hauled him practically into the alpha's lap. A moment later he had a seriously disgruntled face pressed against the back of his neck. "No calls."

Tony had been hanging onto his exasperation pretty well up to this point, so he was sure he could be forgiven for rolling his eyes. " _Yes calls_. She's my damn pack-mother and you're going to meet her at some point. She wants to meet _you_ , that's for sure. Also, speaking of you, now that you've decided that talking isn't horrifying, would you actually answer some questions for me?"

The displeased huff of a noise that his question earned him was deeply amusing to Tony. It was also most certainly not a negation. Pleased, he squirmed around until he was comfortable, and somewhat able to not think dirty thoughts at the same time, while being in the alpha's _lap_. He considered it a mighty victory.

"Excellent! Okay. So I know why you're here, and more or less why you won't let me out of the bed again now that I'm not about to pee myself. What I don't know is how long it was between your traumatastical event and coming to me, because you're in pretty rough shape for someone who had a pack somewhat recently." Tony looked up into their face as he said this, humor dropping away as he examined them. Ze was looking better, definitely, but ze still had a somewhat hunted air underlying everything that made Tony just want to hide them in his closet and never let anyone near them again.

Which was, frankly, not all that helpful. Still, it seemed that his alpha was feeling cooperative, because there was a deep sigh, and then the tightening of arms around him. "Three weeks."

Tony mouthed the timeframe to himself, then grimaced. That was really fast onset of even the edges of distress for an alpha, especially one that had been around people, because no way had ze been avoiding human contact while on the move. It was suspicious. Usually in that situation it took _months_ for someone to get bad enough to have it noticed. Just how many times had they circulated them through isolation training? Shuddering, Tony pressed closer to the alpha and took a deep breath. This immediately got a tightening of arms around him, and he was pathetically grateful that it actually helped him settle down. 

See self? Instincts weren't all bad. 

"Okay, so, three weeks. And you're totally sure they can't track you?" There was a nod against his hair at this, and Tony felt himself relax further. "Okay, okay that's _good_. Moving onto the next topic then. I gotta know what's up with the clothing thing this morning babe, because this is a public convention and it's not going to keep you from being spotted if you trail me around naked as can be."

Tony had never been aware that silence could be so ominous until he waited out _that_ one. That particularly long, careful silence that was follow by low, toneless words that made Tony feel like he was doused in ice. Words that had to have been ground in by rote. "The expectation is that the Asset presents for inspection and maintenance. It is easier to do if the Asset is unclothed for both electrical and physical instances."

"Okay. Um. _No_." He took in a breath, released it, then took another, carefully shifting in the downright _clingy_ grip on him, and pathetically grateful that he'd dodged sexy thoughts earlier because he sure the _fuck_ wasn't having any now. Maybe... it wasn't as bad as it sounded? Please not let it be as bad as it sounded. "Do you think you could explain to me what that _means_?"

The silence this time was shorter, and those icy blue eyes moved away from him, turning to gaze fixedly into the middle distance somewhere on the far wall. "Electrical maintenance clears all lingering memory and wipes the Asset clean for new orders. Physical maintenance is reserved for willful acts, and involves the reinforced restraints being instituted and stabilizing drugs applied until it is determined that the point is made, timeframe for this is indeterminate, before minimal sexual contact is instituted to stabilize and reset."

Tony was going to be sick. He was. But he held on, because _no._ That practice had been _stomped out_ in most places in the world, because in the modern world people no longer fucked captive alphas into submission _god damn it_. There were _laws_. 

But those laws had never interested HYDRA during the second world war, had been laughable to the Nazis, certainly, and crime organizations? No. No, it still happened, and his poor alpha... _god_. 

He made himself speak, his voice tight and a little high. "What does _minimal_ mean?"

"The last memory of an instance indicates three technicians were required and involved use of the unviable parts. Further instances are uncertain due to the results of electrical maintenance. The acts were clearly routine, indicating willful acts were not unprecedented."

Ze was still talking in that flat, dead tone, and Tony made himself ask one final question, because fuck, he had to _know_. Why did he always have to know things? He almost never liked the results. "And the drugs?"

"To put the Asset more quickly into a compliant state of mind."

Yep. Tony was done. They forced them into a sub drop, a _switch_ into a fucking sub drop, and then raped them into compliance. There was the dizzying part that whispered that they did it the hard way too, which meant drawing it out, and that just made it worse. Because it meant the people, no, the _monsters_ involved were all over that for fun rather than some horrifying brand of practicality. As gently as he could, he pushed at the arms wrapped around him. "Be right back. Honest. Need to be sick. Now."

The blue gaze snapped back to his face at that, widening slightly at whatever was there while life flooded back into them, and then the arms let go. 

Tony barely made it to his knees in the bathroom before he was sick. 

It had been a long time since he'd been ill over something that wasn't actually a physical ailment, and he really didn't like it. It was physically painful, and it made it hard to _breathe_.

It wasn't until the alpha followed him, their right hand soothing warmly over his back, that Tony realized that he hadn't _actually_ come back the moment he was done. 

Then again, that really wasn't a fair assessment. He'd thought he _wasn't_ done being sick, even though nothing else was coming up.

He'd never sobbed so hard before that it was hard to tell the difference. 

He knew he shouldn't be, because his alpha needed him to be strong through everything that was in front of them. He knew that was true. But he needed a minute. 

Just. 

One minute.

Because he didn't think he was going to be able to handle this, and he had to learn how. 

There was just no choice.


	13. Names

Tony was willing to admit that in the wake of his meltdown he was horrifically, crushingly embarrassed. After all, in a lot of ways, he'd more or less just flipped out over what, to his poor bewildered alpha, had probably seemed like a story about standard, if not happy, events.

Just knowing that was enough to make fury and helplessness roll through him again, and he turned his head to press it against his alpha's shoulder instead of letting himself feel sick with it. They'd ended up curled on together on the bathroom floor after he'd been given water by the worried alpha, the fussing seeming strangely practiced.

Apparently, this was something ze'd gotten familiar with at some point, fussing over distressed people, and wasn't that just a kick in the teeth?

His alpha comes to him for help, and _he's_ the one who ends up needing it.

Still, his alpha seemed to be very enamored with the act of holding him as much as possible, and he couldn't actually bring himself to mind this. It was a nice, solid foundation of stability in a sea of horrible terrible things that were everywhere around them as far as the eye could see. Tony just had to figure out how to part the waters to get them off the damn island, that was all.

Which meant that he needed to be functioning. 

He could do that, now that his face had been washed and his mouth rinsed, because nothing had changed. 

He'd had the suspicion of something being wrong the night they met. He'd known that something was worse than the dead body they'd met over. He'd seen, and smelled, and practically _tasted_ the wrong that lingered on his alpha that night in a helpless miasma.

He'd tried to help.

In a roundabout fashion, it seemed he'd succeeded.

But once again, that didn't feel like a damn win. 

He didn't like these wins that weren't wins, seriously. They were cramping his style something terrible. Still, he had an alpha to take care of here, and that meant getting his shit together and getting back on track. His alpha still needed something to be _called_ , a bath, and for him to call his Aunt Peggy. All of these things still needed to happen and he needed to get on that. So he'd start with the one that would be either the easiest or hardest of the lot. The name issue.

Thus resolved, he shifted around until he was peering up into blue eyes. "So. Now that I've thoroughly embarrassed myself, we were sort of mid-conversation. Or did we hit the end of the conversation bit, because I can sort of totally understand if you want to just. Not do that now. What with the thing that happened there, with the being sick and all." He flicked the fingers of one hand toward the toilet and wrinkled his nose. "I mean, I _do_ get if that reaction might have freaked you out."

There was a long moment of silence, and the arms around him tightened some, but then the alpha sighed and pressed their nose to Tony's hair to just rest there. "I can talk."

Okay, that was good, excellent, amazing even! He wondered just how strong his alpha really was, and just how far it had been tested. He didn't actually want to _know_ , but he still wondered. "Alright. That's good then. Really good. So. Names. I'm gonna start at the bottom and work my way up, and you don't need to worry about any answer you have to give me, I'll be alright with it. Yeah?" He waited until he felt the slow nod. "Okay good. So, do you _have_ a name, something you get called by others or you call yourself?"

The silence that followed the question wasn't tense, thankfully. No, it seemed that ze was just thinking over the question thoroughly instead of flinging out the first thing that came to mind. Still, that ze needed to think about it was hardly entirely reassuring. "I have been called the Winter Soldier. The name Winter is one I have since... acquired." There was a pause, but their breath drew in like they were going to continue, so Tony kept himself quiet. "I answer to Asset as well." Ze seemed to curl in against Tony then, half hiding as ze kept going. "And very recently James."

Tony had to fight to keep his shock out of his everything, because he suspected it wouldn't taken well if the way the alpha was hiding behind him was any indication. Instead he kept his voice light. "Yeah? Do you have any particular reason you picked James?" There was a head shake in answer to the question, and when it became clear that nothing more would be forthcoming, Tony reached up and back, carefully carding through their messy hair. "Okay. It's totally okay if you don't know. Can I tell you something you might find alarming?" When the assassin, probably not used to wanting to hear anything alarming, nodded only after a rather uncertain delay, Tony continued. "I know who you are."

The twitch was immediate, but Tony didn't expect to be manhandled around until they were facing each other a moment later. He wasn't hurt, of course not, but clearly his words needed visual confirmation. The questions shot at him a moment later were probably the _most_ emotive he'd ever actually heard from this being. " _How_? Who do you think I am?"

"Ah. Well. Second question first. The name I have for you, Winter Soldier thing aside, is James Buchanan Barnes. History likes to think of you as Bucky." He moved his hands, and when there was no rejection of the motion, returned them to carding through the alpha's hair. No, instead those pretty blue eyes were clearly trying to stare into his god damn soul. "And that's part of how I know, history. My dad though, he actually knew you, had pictures, told stories. You were a he back then." He cradled his face gently in both hands. "But I'll stick to ze because that's what you picked alright?"

There was some definite wary uncertainty in that expression now, and ze licked their lips before speaking, a nervous tic that he suspected was far from new. It gave Tony a moment of pride that he was being allowed to see the cracks in the assassin's rigid control, if he was honest with himself. "This Aunt you want to call. Does she know too?"

Tony gave the poor bewildered alpha a small, sad smile. "Yeah. Yeah she knows you real well." One of his hands moved, resting over the red wing on their hip, bringing focus to it. "This soulmark here? You know what it means?" There was a shake of their head to that, then a pause, a frown, and a shrug. "Yeah, let me know if you figure the answer out. But, this mark is attached to someone who she was attached to too. As far as anyone knows, he died, but like you, his body was never recovered, so no one can be sure. In any case, that makes you packmates. Family."

The wary interest in those blue eyes about broke his heart, but he understood. Especially after recent events, he _really_ understood. So he took it as a good sign. "She won't... take me from you?"

Tony was stunned by the intensity of the warmth that question brought to him, soothing over frayed nerves that were tired of him being left alone or behind by his soulmates thus far. The protective intensity that followed on the heels of it was far more expected. "She won't. She knows me better than that."

There was another moment of study from the alpha, and finally, they opened their arms to release Tony. "I'll bathe, you call."

It wasn't the end of the conversation, but... that was easily fixed. "Alright. I'll call. Who am I telling her I found?"

The alpha paused in the act of helping Tony to his feet, and cocked their head, looking up at him for a long moment. When the answer came, it was after what looked to be some serious internal debate. "James."

Tony reached down, petting over the long strands of hair one last time before leaving the room and throwing his answer over his shoulder. "Alright, I'll let her know James is finally coming home then."

He made sure to close the door behind him, both to give the alpha privacy for their own reaction to that declaration, and to make sure that when he and his aunt got her all emotional on the phone, that ze was less likely to hear.

He suspected she'd appreciate that later.


	14. Decisive

His Aunt Peggy was about as emotional as he expected. More than that though, she was _angry_.

Clearly, her beta temperament meant that she could jump straight to the blistering curse words and rage without concern. Or, okay, maybe it was just that she didn't have the person who was causing the reaction right in front of her to worry about. 

Either way, the situation had Tony holding the phone away from his ear like he'd never seen one before, eyebrows raised high as he waited for her to wind down. He was pretty sure he heard a crash on the other end of the line, and he actually somewhat envied her having the opportunity to _vent_.

He'd kill for a chance to just break things for a while, but no, no he had to do the supportive caretaker thing and cried all over the alpha instead.

Unfair. 

Still, it was a few minutes before the chaos of rage finally eased down, and he slowly brought the phone back to his ear to see if it was safe to keep there. "All done?"

She cleared her throat in turn, and he didn't think he'd ever heard her sound so prim as she did in that moment. So that, at least, told him what 'incredibly enraged but caging it' Aunt Peggy sounded like. "For the moment. Our darling James didn't hear any of that, did he?"

Tony turned in place, eying the still shut bathroom door. "If he did, he didn't come to investigate. Not honestly sure how keen his senses are at this point."

"Do you think...?"

"I'll find out. I swear I will. You'll understand when you see him though so just... don't give up too soon okay?"

That pulled a soft laugh out of her, and it was sad. "You know I already did. I'll actually re-light a bit of that hope though, if everything is like you say." There was a beat of pause. "And take care of that situation for you that means some people end up shot as well. I can't say I like what I've heard Tony."

"I could tell." There was a moment of understanding silence, then, before Tony just had to _ask_. "...What did you _break_ anyway?"

"Oh! Heard that did you? Just a few trinkets your father gave me, so nothing dreadfully important."

Tony squinted his eyes half shut in suspicion. "It was that ceramic cat collection you always hated, wasn't it."

It wasn't a question, so she didn't bother to answer him. "In any case, I feel much better now that I've taken a moment for myself. We'll be sure to give you a chance for the same soon, mm?"

Tony released a noise that was half laugh, half sigh. "Yeah, that'd be nice. We'll see you as soon as we get sorted out here alright?"

"Of course dear. I'll be at home. Should I contact anyone for you?"

Tony quieted then, seriously thinking about it. "No... No, I'll do it myself now that ze's been found."

"Yes, that probably would be best, wouldn't it? Soon. Goodbye for now."

"See you later Aunt Peggy." Tony hung up the phone with a soft sigh, and just breathed for a moment. 

He had so much he needed to inform people about. God alone knew he still hadn't thrown Clint a clue about what had him so wound up, though he had the heavy suspicion that he actually knew on some level already. And Rhodey- _Yeah._ Rhodey was going to yell at him for being a reckless idiot and taking chances with his health and life. 

Again. 

He wasn't particularly looking forward to the lecture, but he didn't regret anything that actually brought this alpha of his home so... well. He could suck up being yelled at for a while when it came to it. 

Finally feeling like he had some solid footing for the first time since the night before, Tony turned in place to see about grabbing something to dress in, only to realize that at some point the alpha had not only emerged, but had pulled on their pants and was standing practically on top of him while waiting for him to notice. It was enough to startle Tony into almost falling over at least, and there was both relief and mortification in him when the high pitch yelp that left him actually drew one of those faint, not quite smiles to their face. 

"Okay, hello Mj. Sneakypants. Walk a little softer why don't you. I mean, I didn't actually manage to fall over so clearly you need to work at it some." He pressed his hand against his chest and shook his head, though he felt a smile pulling at his face when all he got for his efforts was one of those unimpressed stares. "Okay, fine, you don't need to work at it, you're absolutely perfect as you are."

There was a slow dawning of surprise at _that_ , and Tony inwardly cursed. He wasn't given time to dwell on it. "Were arrangements made?"

The question left Tony flat footed for a moment, because for some reason, he hadn't expected things to so immediately shift back to practicalities. Clearly, the alpha had no intention of getting near his comment. Huh. Good to know. "Um, sort of? We're going to meet her at her place, but most of that time was her, er, being upset on your behalf while the opportunity was good."

There was a sigh in response to that, before the alpha turned and started to paw through Tony's bag, flinging clothing his way rather negligently. "Clothes. You need to be seen?"

Tony only just managed to grab the cloth being pelted at him before it could fall to the ground, and found himself blinking somewhat stupidly at the change in attitude. Sure, the first night they had met there had been a lot of this then too, but it was _different_ after the night before. More dramatic maybe? Either way, it left Tony at less than his best as he fumbled over words. "Uh, yeah. I'm probably the most well-known person here. Gotta make sure that I'm spotted on my way out at least."

"Good. I will meet you at your car." Their gaze swept the room in irritation, noting how Tony's things were scattered all over the place. Was ze being _disapproving_ of his clutter? Seriously? "With your things."

Yes, that was totally disapproval. He knew it well and, wow. Okay then. Thanks bunches for the judgment there soulmate. Still, Tony couldn't actually bring himself to be upset, and just set about putting on what he'd been given, noting that it was the outfit he'd actually planned to leave in anyway. Interesting. Either James was really observant, or ze had excellent taste. Maybe both. He knew he had other clean things in there. "Okay fine, and I'm guessing you know which car is mine?"

The look he earned himself with that question was almost scathing. Clearly, the bath had done _someone_ good, if one could call this grumpiness good at least. 

"Right, okay then, you know and don't appreciate the doubt. Got it. At the car. I should probably grab food and chat a bit with whoever is down already. That going to cause any issues?"

"I will meet you at the car." 

O _kay_ then. Clearly the answer was no if the progressively more fixed tone was any indication. "Right. At the car. No timeframe, just get there. See you in a little while then, and we'll be off."

Tony had been pulling on his shoes while he'd been speaking, and he could safely say that the evaluating once over he got once he straightened definitely made it clear the outfit had been a deliberate choice, no matter the reasons. A taste thing then. He'd have to test that out at some point. 

He pointedly held his arms out and gave a turn when he noticed the gaze to show that he'd noticed them noticing. "I pass inspection?"

"You'll do."

The even response startled a laugh out of Tony, and there was a beat of silence in the wake of it where they just held eye contact. 

Tony could live with that. It reminded him that there was a proper person under all the horror, after all, and that's exactly what he needed if he was going to be out among the masses. Especially given that he _really_ didn't want the alpha to vanish on him again. 

Yeah, he probably wasn't going to be shaking _that_ fear any time soon at all.

Still, it let him leave the room, which might very well have been the reason for the comment in the first place.

Only time would tell.


	15. Incoming and Outgoing

Tony was entirely grateful that he'd been forced out of the room by James when he had.

This was not because anything went wrong, exactly. Nor, in fact, was it because he was in a terrible hurry to be parted from his newest alpha. If anything, given the choice they wouldn't have parted to meet up at all. No, this gratitude came entirely from the faint, almost faded trail that caught his senses on the stairs, unfamiliar and so familiar at the same time.

If he'd delayed longer, he would have missed it, and it was entirely possible that they would have come and gone before he'd ever even noticed.

Which would have been a shame, a horrible terrible shame, because if they were here, they did science, and in what horrifying world would a scientist soulmate of _his_ not have access to everything he had to offer? Still, he was horribly conscious of his damaged soulmate moving around upstairs, and who would be waiting for him soon enough at his vehicle. 

Fuck. 

Hesitating only for a moment with a glance back toward the floor he'd just left, he promised silently to make up for it if he took too long. If he didn't at least _meet_ this one, he'd never forgive himself. What if this was it, the only chance? No, get a name, contact information, _then_ go.

Decided, he hurried the rest of the way down the stairs, steps light from the training he'd been getting at SHIELD lately to distract him from his frustration, and he rushed in the direction the person with the scent had gone. He was pretty sure they hadn't even caught wind of him yet, not with how rapidly it was diminishing to him, but he just hoped they didn't freak out on him. He was, after all, growing increasingly known in the papers.

And it wasn't like he wasn't a pioneer in his fields otherwise either, so that was both good and bad. 

Taking a deep breath, he plunged through a doorway, looking around and just _freezing_ because fuck damn it, what was his morning. 

That was _not_ the soulmate he was looking for. 

Cursing mentally, he immediately circled toward the right as Hammer started toward him from the left, hunting intently for the person who'd brought him into the area. He wasn't even sorry for the speed at which he was moving either, because he was in a hurry and Hammer never made _that_ work out. At all. Ever. 

Admittedly, he'd have to talk to the beta eventually, but today was so painfully _not that morning_ that he could not even with his nattering. Not even a tiny bit. And the fucker still hadn't stepped down his god damn campaign against him, so he could just suck up being avoided a little longer.

After his recent issues, he was starting to grasp that maybe avoiding the beta was cruel and might be the source of the resentment, but fucking hell if his timing wasn't _always_ the shittiest. 

It was on this thought that he hit a doorway into another room, and he was pathetically grateful to lose sight of the beta, closing the door behind him as soon as he realized he'd entered a side room that was being used as a library. Thank fuck. Okay. He took a deep breath to make sure he'd gone the right way, then picked up his pace to hurry along before his least wanted soulmate managed to catch up and make him lose whoever the hell _this_ was.

Thankfully, the answer seemed to be 'stationary soulmate' and the guy, at least he was pretty sure the beta used masculines if the attire was any indicator, was curled up looking over one of the pre-released science journals scattered over the tables for the event. And they were absolutely adorable. In fact, Tony's fingers just itched to pet the beta's curls, but no, no time.

No, name, number, address, then out the door. With Hammer following after him like a particularly persistent suitor and James waiting on him to head back to Aunt Peggy with him while being hunted by god only knew who...

Sorry, mystery beta soulmate, but you were drawing the short stick on this particular morning of overly complicated shitfest.

Hurrying over, he could tell the exact moment that the beta caught wind of him, brown eyes snapping up to look around as one hand came up to adjust their glasses. There was a little wariness there, which Tony thoroughly _got_ , but there was also excitement. It just made Tony regret his hurry even more as he practically skidded to a stop at the side of their table, already digging in his pocket for a notebook, pen, and business card. 

He didn't give them a chance to speak before he was already explaining why he couldn't linger. "I'm so fucking sorry that I can't stay and get to know you. There's kind of an emergency and I have to like, bolt, and the soulmate I get along with least in the whole world is sort of following me, and he's a total asshole so I can't even take my time and introduce myself properly before I go."

There was a bit of blinking as Tony shoved the pen and paper into the beta's hands, and he couldn't blame the other scientist for the way their eyebrows raised high.

"Yeah, I know, totally unconventional. Name, number, address, favorite color, anything, please. I promise with all my heart I'll call you as soon as I have five seconds without a disaster on the horizon, I swear."

"And if I ask what this emergency is that has you in such a hurry, would I get to find out now, or is this a 'must know each other a while first' sort of emergency?" But the beta was writing as he asked, and he was definitely a he if the note at the top was being read correctly by Tony. 

He hadn't lost his touch with _that_ skill at least. "Sort of soulmate related. I found one of them finally who has been elusive and is in a real bad place, alpha. Congrats, by the way, on being the first soulmate I've actually told about them. Yes, I will explain my numbering system and why I have one when I contact you again." 

The moment his pen was handed back he was scrawling his personal home information across the back of the business card with a hurried hand. "Sounds terrible. I look forward to being contacted, Dr. Stark. You have a pretty interesting reputation about that."

"If I don't come to you, come to me. Also, that's for one night stands and business contacts, not soulmates." He glanced at the paper as he pushed the card over to him, tucking it into his pocket with his pen. "Pleased to meet you Bruce, call me Tony, and for god's sake, please delay Hammer for me." He glanced toward the doorway where Hammer had just entered, and grimaced. "I'm going out the window."

"Wait, what? Seriously?" The beta straightened in his chair, obviously surprised as he watched the omega open the window just beside him.

"Sure am. See you soon handsome, I'm sure we'll be great friends." 

He didn't give the beta time to answer this time, and he could hear Hammer's noise of shocked confusion as Tony vanished out the window and lunged for the tree outside the second-floor window to use to catch himself from a fall. 

Yep, that had to be one of the most dramatic Hammer escapes to date, and he regretted absolutely _nothing_ about that. Instead, he worked himself quickly to the trunk of the tree and made his way to the ground so he could sprint for the parking garage at speed. 

At least plenty of people had seen him make _that_ exit, but fuck if he'd intended to fuel the rumors about him and Hammer like that in the process.

Didn't matter, when all was said and done though, because time to go. 

And thank fuck that James was actually waiting for him when he got there too.

Otherwise, he might have felt silly.


	16. Arriving Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long delay there everyone, I got super hung up on the Peggy meeting and the muses just absolutely refused to have any of it. So instead you get this, which I'm far far more satisfied with.

The initial meeting with Aunt Peggy went more or less exactly as Tony expected.

She was pissed about the window thing, reluctantly impressed he hadn't hurt himself, and almost entirely successful in managing to repress her tears in the face of a James Barnes who really had no idea who she was. It was that last point that put pressure on Tony's chest and threw his instincts into overdrive, of course, which was why the window thing even came up.

He would have rathered keep that to himself, if he were being honest. However, needs must, and it made a damn good distraction from her distress, and that's how he used it.

The strategy session, regrettably, just plain didn't go far. There was a point blank declaration that Tony and James were going to have a guard, of course, which _duh_ , but beyond that? Nothing, honestly, aside from a hell of a lot of staring and her murmuring quietly to the alpha every time he had to go into another room for something. They'd have to come back around to it, but that was okay. It wasn't like Aunt Peggy couldn't visit Malibu any which time, and he had a super strong suspicion he was about to have Clint semi-permanently in residence too.

It soothed his omega instincts pretty damn thoroughly to even _think_ about most of his soulmates being in one spot. 

So that's how it worked out, after spending the morning with Peggy, that they left the East Coast with one archer in tow with what seemed to be _all_ the beta's worldly possessions. 

Of _course_ on the ride over he and James had to have a stare down. Frankly, it was intense enough that Tony kind of felt like he had to plant himself in between them, just in case, but considering the way that the alpha and beta both seemed to relax when he did so, his best guess was that he'd interrupted something he was _supposed_ to?

It was nearly impossible for him to say, but it resulted in him spending the rest of the cross continent flight between two incredibly well armed people. Which was weird, but he could safely say he'd never felt so well guarded in his entire _life_.

He could, if pressed, perhaps admit he'd kind of really liked it and wouldn't mind doing so again. 

All of that, of course, was what led to this moment, with the lot of them heading up to his beloved house where his JARVIS was stashed comfortably in the walls. He'd been working to give the kid more and more autonomy, but there were still, unfortunately, limits. Such as the one that had him throwing both hands out in a 'no stay!' gesture at the trigger happy pair behind him as he came nose to nose with an alpha who had apparently been _lurking_ in his front hall, just waiting for him to show up.

An alpha who he'd forgotten to keep in the loop.

An alpha who had probably just met his kid, whom he'd sort of forgotten that he planned to introduce him to sooner but hadn't because of everything going on. 

An alpha he'd sort of _forgotten to tell_ that he'd found a couple of his other soulmates to.

On the one hand, at least Rhodey _knew_ about JARVIS, even if they hadn't met. On the other hand, he'd said jack shit about Clint or James. 

Fuck. 

Path of least resistance it was.

His voice pitching to the most thrilled and excited he could make it, which wasn't hard at all because today was fucking excellent, he threw himself into his longest running soulmate's arms and kissed all over his face with as much over the top enthusiasm as he could dish out. "Honeyboo! Gummybear of my soul! You're here! Just in time too! There are so many people you have to meet _right now_. Once they're _inside_." He shot a look over his shoulder to make sure that the other two were fine, and thank god that James seemed more bewildered than territorial as ze skirted their way into the building.

Clint, however, couldn't seem to refrain from commenting even as he kicked the door shut behind himself. "Wait, does he live here too? Just how many soulmates do you _have_ Stark?"

Rhodey's eyebrows took a run for his hairline, and he looked after the well armored alpha that was on their way out the room in askance, then looked to Clint, who admittedly looked _almost_ as impressive and intimidating with his bow strapped to his back. Even if he did have what was obviously a bag of worldly goods looped over his shoulder. "Wait, you're telling me you've found two...?"

"Nooo?" Tony's almost reluctant drawing out of the word was enough to have both Clint and Rhodey giving him looks, Clint in confused curiosity, Rhodey in exasperated fondness. "Okay, so my Soulmate list at present is you." He patted Rhodey on the chest. He was seriously finding absolutely nothing wrong with the fact that the alpha had yet to release him. He was calm, and relaxing, and he dearly needed that after spending so many hours worrying about James. "Pretty but menacing who just went off to perimeter check. He's another James by the way, I will explain better in a little while, since that's a _thing_. Then there's bows and arrows behind me."

Said bows and arrows rolled his eyes before lifting his hand in a small salute, a smirk on his face. "Yo. Clint Barton, Clint's fine." 

Rhodey leaned past Tony to offer his hand for a shake with a wry smile. "James Rhodes. This one calls me Rhodey, so that'll do fine."

"Better than Birdy, I suppose." The two exchanged a grin over their handshake, then settled back to their former positions.

Tony was concerned. Best not think too hard about how much trouble _that_ could be until later. "Riiiight. Okay. But no. You're totally up on the Hammer situation. I uh, might need to talk to him soon."

"Oh, so suddenly my advice isn't terrible? Amazing how that works out. Maybe he'll calm the fuck down if you actually admit he exists."

Tony scowled at the alpha, then lifted his chin with a huff and glanced back to Clint. "Whatever. So. Then there's JARVIS."

Clint looked confused at this one. "I've heard of Hammer, but isn't JARVIS that AI you kept telling me about? How...?"

"He's got a soul." He lifted his hand, showing the golden chainmail mesh mark over the back of his hand pointedly. "This is his. _Moving on_. Kid can hear us, even if he has no way to talk to us in this part of the house yet. I'm working on it."

"Gee, that's not creepy at all."

"Shut it, Clint."

"Tony, I like that one."

"Shut it, pookey." Tony waited to be sure that the peanut gallery was _done_ for the moment, then cleared his throat. "And then this morning I met another one." He fished in his pocket and triumphantly pulled a piece of paper out to look at it. "Bruce Banner. Wait. Seriously? I mean, I didn't really register the name before, but I've heard of this guy, holy shit."

Rhodey eyed Tony for a moment, then heaved a sigh, releasing the omega and nudging him further into the house. "C'mon kitten, you can gush over your new find inside. I'm guessing none of you guys have eaten? I ordered in but I think I'll have to revise that if it's for four instead of two."

Clint laughed, flashing him a smirk. "Better you than me, I can't cook for shit. I'm going to find a place to drop my stuff."

"Ask JARVIS. He's pretty good with that and Tony made space for his stable of soulmates in this place already. He's pretty good at planning ahead if he has a little warning."

"Guys, I'm still standing right here." He was looking over his shoulder at them with a scowl, but it was halfhearted at best. "I'm going to go find James. You two, don't bond anymore. Rhodey, how long am I gonna have you this time?"

"A whole week before I'm off leave."

"Excellent! We're cuddling later." He pointed at him, then looked to Clint. "My vents are too small for you. If you break my air conditioning there will be _words_." 

"Sir, yes sir!" When Clint gave him a mocking salute, Tony just scowled harder and huffed, spinning on his heel to go hunting for James, because where the hell had ze even _gone_. The house was big but not _that_ big.

Still, his alpha had a pretty amazing talent for vanishing when ze wanted to, so he'd just have to hope ze hadn't turned his evaluation of the house into some level of hide and seek. 

Because his day could totally do without that. It was almost dark, he hadn't really gotten a break because his life was apparently now _totally insane_ , but hey, he'd gotten a pile of soulmates in one spot out of the deal, so that was something awesome. In fact, that bit was _super_ awesome.

Which was the thought he was on when he found James, padding over to stand beside them where the alpha was staring out over the water with an odd look on their face. "Alright there?"

Blue eyes cut to him for a moment before they returned to their former stare outward, their body still. "Your Peggy was deeply attached to me."

Tony stared for a moment, then stepped in, resting their shoulders together as he turned to stare out over the water too. "Sure was."

"She believed me to be dead?"

"She did, yeah."

"That assessment is still technically correct. I do not remember her."

Tony turned his head, noting that ze was looking back when he did. "Yeah, but you might eventually. There's no way to say. Don't worry about it, okay? She was braced for it to go a whole hell of a lot worse than it did. So, how about we not worry about that. Instead, there's someone you haven't met yet that you need to, okay?"

"More people live here than the two I have already seen?" A frown was twitching at the alpha's face as they asked this, and it was enough to make Tony laugh.

"No, no, not yet. Rhodey doesn't live here anyway, he just visits when he's on leave."

If anything, this seemed to irritate the alpha more, and the frown became a proper one. "But why?"

"He's airforce. It takes him away a lot." He grinned at his assassin alpha and reached up to run his fingers through their hair. It was gratifying when James leaned into the touch, no matter how minutely. "Don't worry about it okay? You'll get used to it. You need to meet the one you haven't yet. Mind, he doesn't have a body or anything, so he's just sort of a voice in some parts of the house while I work out how to make it universal. J, kiddo, you paying attention to mom?"

"I am Sir." The words came from their left, one of the speakers toward the corner of the room. Tony was still trying to figure out how to make that more discreet. "This is the one you told me of in my creation?"

"Sure is kid." He was watching James carefully, but the alpha seemed more curious than concerned, so he let it be. "James, JARVIS. JARVIS, James."

"It is a pleasure to meet you. Is there anything pertinent I should be aware of about you?"

There was a long pause at the question, and then the alpha shook their head. "No. Maybe later." Then their gaze dropped to Tony, bright and speculative. "No body?"

"Not unless you count the house."

"I'm impressed." With that, the alpha's attention turned back out the window, but Tony really couldn't find it in himself to mind.

No, instead he was just filled with a happy, bubbly feeling of accomplishment as he finally wandered off to check on that dinner situation Rhodey had mentioned would be a thing.

He was starving, after all, and dinner sounded _amazing_.


	17. The Marks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry I had such a huge delay. Life blew up, but I made up for it, hopefully, by finally giving you guys Tony's marks.

Living with the others was an adventure.

A proper adventure that is, not the kind of adventure that would leave Tony horrified, but instead the kind where he could stand back and watch his various soul mates interact with a kind of breathless awe about how amazing they were. Because they were totally that awesome, and it wasn't even a case of his connection to them throwing shade either. 

Rhodey had always been badass. It was his thing. He'd rescued him at a party shortly after they'd met from some complete _dickbags_ who had thought it would be fun to drug an omega. They didn't get to do anything, and Rhodey had thereafter become the most protective mama bear he'd _ever_ seen. Which was nice, a little frustrating sometimes, but still nice. He loved his Rhodey, he was his best friend, and anyone who _ever_ wanted to try and tear him away would have to not only go through him first, but potentially not leave with their eyes. Whoever that red bird over Rhodey's heart was better take care, because if they hurt his Rhodey, there would be hell to pay. 

Still, it had been pretty hilarious after they met to see Rhodey's face on them trying to find his mark. He'd noped his way through the ones in all the polite areas, and it wasn't until Tony had showed off the inch and a half square of neon pink hearts on his left ass cheek that the alpha had given a flustered confirmation. More hilariously to Tony was when he turned around to show a mark that matched, but was about three times as big, on Rhodey's _right_ ass cheek. It was little wonder Rhodey had been reluctant to flash it, unlike the red bird he'd so hopefully pointed out. 

No, instead it had been a case of 'I'll tell you when I see it' turned brightly flushing soul mate when Tony just _kept taking off clothes_. But he loved the guy, always would, and he got on fabulously with his newer soul mates. True, Tony was pretty sure he'd threatened the fuck out of the human shaped ones the moment his back was turned, but that was alright, and whatever he'd done seemed to have raised the appreciation bar somewhat on the behalf of the snipers. How well he and Clint got on, especially, worried and freaked Tony out by turns. 

They liked to pick on him too much.

Now Clint? Clint's mark had been entertaining to find. Not because it was in a weird place, but because of the look on the beta's face when he'd realized which one was his on Tony. This was mainly because Tony had poked a little fun about his arrows after he found out about them the first time, and had called him feather head for a week solid. And then there they were, with Tony and his three bright yellow feathers in a six by three decoration down his right side. Tony had pouted significantly that his mark was only about half that size on Clint, and hidden on his right calf besides. 

Ever since, it had been something of a goal to get him to wear shorts, just because, and Tony had boldly run around the house in just swim trunks for a week solid after getting them all home to show them how it was done. After Clint protested about not seeing where Rhodey's mark was when the alpha joined in on his clothing shenanigans, Tony then went right down to running around the house naked for a day, which was deeply hilarious all by itself since he'd finally persuaded Bruce that he totally wanted to come visit, if not move in. It was practically the first thing the beta encountered when he came in the door.

Given that Bruce was a rising star in his field, Tony was both very surprised, and not surprised at all, when he actually opted to move in. Science didn't always pay well if you couldn't find a sponsor for your research after all. Tony totally got that, and Bruce was still new in his fields of study. It meant that Tony had a chance to sit with him, the day after he'd gotten him moved in, and only two after he'd brought everyone else home, and hash out their expectations as a pair of soul mates. 

They got along like a house on fire, no doubt about that, and their science crosstalk was only really followed by Rhodey when they got going, since he had the background to keep up, but they quickly determined that romance wasn't where they wanted it to be. That didn't mean sex was off the table, since Tony was the kind of guy who adored sex, and loved to find long term playmates, but there was definitely never going to be any expectation of a lovey-dovey romance going on here. Still, for Bruce he didn't even have to get undressed to find his mark, which was new and interesting, because the soft blue starburst on his right collarbone, nearly three inches long and only a half inch tall, had always been one of his favorites. That Bruce sort of _did_ just made him grin, and he was happy enough to see the mark flared out from the beta's bellybutton.

Something about the colors and the shape had always appealed to him, and on meeting Bruce, he finally got what that was about. So far, after all, the marks had felt about spot on to the kind of feelings he had about the people who put them on him.

JARVIS's mark, of course, he'd always known as belonging to him, but he still hadn't figured out the meaning of. Gold chainmail, after all, kind of screamed protection and armor, and he had no idea how that could apply to his baby AI. Was JARVIS to protect him? Would he need to protect JARVIS? Was there some kind of mutual protection in their future that he thus far hadn't managed to figure the hell out? He didn't put the questions to the kid, not wanting to freak him out, but he did drag Rhodey to the beach to discuss it once, both worried and curious about the possible meanings. 

Rhodey, after all, had always been a little interested in the symbolism of marks after all, even if he'd never outright said that was a hobby of his. Still, he didn't have anything more than what Tony had come up with himself, and he once again gave up the symbolism game as a lost cause. 

On the other hand, he still wondered about placement when he saw the mark that matched James'. The alpha's mark on him, after all, was in the same place as certain very prominent star was on them. His own flamedrop started where the topmost point of James' star did, and was just about as wide and tall. It was disorienting, but interesting. More than once he'd ended up offering over his arm for the alpha to run a fingertip from the white tip of the fire to the red base where it curved. It was rapidly becoming a habit, but there was something soft about it, and he couldn't find it in him to be upset about it.

Ze always had such an odd look on their face when they did that, and he honestly couldn't say what they must have been thinking about to cause it. He hoped it wasn't bad thoughts, because he knew that ze didn't exactly have a complete picture of the kind of things that their memory should have given them. He didn't know the extent of it, and frankly, he was kind of hesitant to ask, but what little they had said had painted a macabre picture already, and he figured it would be best to let them set the pace about opening up to such private information. He already knew more about James' marks than ze did, though he _did_ try to share, and it was one of these conversations that led to him finally determining which mark had to be Hammer's.

After all, there were only three left, once everyone in the house was accounted for, and the metallic blue, two by two, snowflake on his belly was most _definitely_ not Hammer's. That was one of the marks he'd been born with, and he knew for a fact that the guy was one hundred percent not older than him. He'd checked the age for verification on that as soon as he'd found out he was his soulmate. He also knew he wasn't so much younger than him that he would have remembered getting the mark, which eliminated the three dark red interlocking circles over his heart as well. Which was good, because he loved the mark over his heart, and he didn't want Justin Hammer to fuck it up for him.

Which, of course, left the cookie. He was pretty sure it wasn't actually a cookie, but the light green, slightly lumpy looking circle with darker green flecks all over it that lived atop his right foot? Totally looked like a toxic chocolate chip cookie to him. Which, in his not so humble opinion, suited Hammer _absolutely perfectly_. He resolved then and there to wear sandals that showed it off to the next event they were both likely to be at, just so he could aim the beta's attention at it and confirm. Which was probably a little mean, but he _had_ told Rhodey he would finally try to talk to him, and hey, perfect conversation starter, right there on his foot. Done and done.

All told, the time that Rhodey had on leave turned out to be amazing, and Tony was very, very sad to see him go. Still, he knew he'd be back, and by then maybe everyone would have gotten completely used to each other instead of all this dancing around one another that this initial roundup had caused. 

Who knew, maybe he'd even find another damn omega to add to the pack by the time the guy was on leave again, because this was getting a bit ridiculous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
>  Why yes, you see a mark that wasn't in this chapter. Tony will get that one later.


	18. Confronting the Cookie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you AnonEHouse for your quip inspiration which gave me a direction for this chapter. As there was a little confusion, as of this chapter, Tony does not yet have his music note mark shown in the last chapter.

It had been two months since the science convention where James had invaded Tony's hotel room and instigated his rumor fueling mad dash. 

In that time, the tabloids had circulated all kinds of theories and had eventually moved on to other topics. Tony had been busy, and a lot had changed in his personal life, but somehow he'd expected this event to be just the same as before, with the glitz and glamour being a familiar monotony as it always had been. 

It wasn't. 

Maybe it was the shoes, slip-ons with an open top that he hadn't deigned to wear socks with that fully exposed the green cookie of doom for all to see. Maybe it was that he knew there was something bigger and that had led to his sniper soul mates ghosting the edges of the event on alert rather than being at his side for it. Maybe it was his discontent because Bruce was off halfway across the country right now doing science while Tony was dealing with socialites and people with more money than brains. It was hard to say. 

What he did know was that for the first time when Hammer made a beeline for him, he didn't promptly try to vanish into the crowd, and there was something distinctly satisfying about seeing the beta falter when he realized he wasn't running. Had the idiot really invested so much in the chase that he'd never considered what he'd do if he _caught up_?

That would be typical. 

Still, rumors and long distance observation wasn't really enough to judge a person, even if every bit of evidence pointed to raging douchery. Raging douchery with a bow on it no less. In this case he could admit to equal yet opposite douchery, though he didn't even try to repress the amused smirk when Hammer's steps first slowed, then settled to a veritable crawl when Tony still didn't make a move to leave. If he hadn't been enjoying Hammer's obvious confusion so much, he probably would have felt bad for causing it, really, but thus far their relationship hadn't been terribly _friendly_.

"Looking a little confused there, Hammer. You didn't think the chase would go on forever did you?" His eyebrows hiked toward his hairline, and he lifted a hand, warding off his answer before the beta could even get started. "No, no, I bet you did. Please. I got tired of that months ago. Hell, I was tired of it when it started, but you weren't exactly making yourself appealing. Seriously. The smear campaign? Not okay."

When Tony stopped talking, there was a distinct flush on the beta's cheeks, though if from anger of humiliation was hard to say. Tony, for his part, found it interesting that the other had immediately caved to his nonverbal direction without so much as a fight. Clearly not a dominant, at the very least. He didn't even seem properly upset about it like one would be. His tone most _definitely_ didn't convey it either. "I started that before I knew about you being my soul mate. I wasn't about to back out of it when you wouldn't even speak to me after finding out either."

"And the gifts? Did you think being two faced about it would make it all better?" Tony's eyebrows made a run for his hairline with this question, and he flipped his hand in a pointed flourish. "Because that just made you seem skeevy as hell sweetums."

"Look, that wasn't the goal. I just wanted you to know that business and personal wasn't the same." When Hammer shifted on his feet anxiously, Tony just gave him a pointed stare. This led to the beta dropping his gaze, and oh yeah, definitely not a dominant at _all_ this one, which in turn led to those eyes darting _right back up_ , wide and startled after having seen the mark on Tony's foot.

"So that _is_ yours. I was wondering if I'd be getting a confirmation on that or not tonight."

"You- You're the asteroid? I thought you would be the blue circle..." They made eye contact for a moment after the beta trailed off lamely, and as the silence drew out, Tony watched Hammer seem to steel himself, resolving to say _something_.

So Tony cut him off. " _Ass_ teroid hmmm? And here I always saw a toxic cookie. I guess I can see why you see that. Look, I didn't meet up with you to make nice, I'm not going to lie about that. I'm tired of avoiding you, but that doesn't mean I'm _happy_ with you, you understand?" 

"But we're soul mates. You can't just _dismiss_ me!" The beta looked thoroughly aghast at the idea, and Tony wasn't feeling terribly sympathetic to his plight.

"I can and I will until you prove you can be something other than a two faced asshole who is leaning on us being soul mates to win me over. Understand me?"

"What- How am I supposed to do that if you don't talk to me?" Hammer sounded so confused and helpless when he asked that that Tony didn't even try to quell his instincts, just reaching up and patting the beta on the head.

It may have been condescending, but it also kept this idiot of a soul mate from getting distressed properly, which would have gotten _his_ back up, and that more than worked for him. It didn't stop his tone from being a somewhat mocking drawl though. "You're not an idiot, even if you insist on acting like one, so I'm sure you can figure out how to stop being a complete ass-captain all on your own. I'll notice, and then we'll talk, got it?"

"No." The word was petulant, which just led to Tony smirking as he took his hand back.

"Well, that's just too bad. Ask your assistant, as I'm sure you have one, and maybe they can explain it to you. Don't try to hunt me down again until you've come to understand what you've done wrong."

"But-!"

"Not what you _think_ I think you did wrong. What you actually did wrong. Now shoo." He made a shooing motion, eyebrows arched as he stared at the beta. 

Tony knew it was petty, but it felt like a victory when Hammer obediently slunk away to _not bother him_ for the rest of the event.


	19. Must we?

In the weeks that followed, Tony found that there were a lot of things about living with his soulmates that he hadn’t once accounted for as a child. 

Some of these things were small, trivial, such as sorting out how to keep everyone fed when he was used to getting groceries for one person instead of several, to say nothing of the chore situation once he realized that he couldn’t have people in to do the cleaning anymore. It was too risky with James around, and Clint wasn’t exactly loving the idea of someone poking around their home either. Bruce, surprisingly, hadn’t had an opinion, but that was largely because his ambitions took him away from home more often than he stayed put. Somehow, he’d always expected any sciency soulmate, other than Rhodey of course, would be happy to stay planted in a lab somewhere nearby, but clearly not.

Of course, while there were the small things that were important on the day to day, there were also the huge things that seemed to reach out and affect everyone on a more personal level. Like the nightmares. Tony, well used to sharing a bed with Rhodey and knowing the signs of someone having a bad night because of that, legitimately had no idea how to approach the situation when it came up for James. In fact, that lack of certainty had led to one particularly bad night where the alpha had come out of what appeared to be a sound sleep just to materialize a knife out of fucking nowhere and stab the pillow beside his head. 

After that, James had decided that perhaps napping with Tony wasn’t prudent any longer, and ze fully removed themselves to the room ze’d been given when ze first moved in. 

That had been both a relief and a disappointment to Tony, because on one hand, he had no particular desire to be stabbed in the middle of the night. On the other hand, he had been fully aware that the bed sharing had even started in the first place because ze had just desperately needed the consistent contact. Ze still wasn’t quite up to fully stable, and they both knew it, but Tony wasn’t about to try to coax them back. Instead, he just let them know that they were still welcome before settling back into his routine. Some things were still too shaky, and he wouldn’t do anything that made the alpha feel obligated to share physical contact.

Of course, _that_ change of routine had led to mornings like _this,_ wherein Tony got up far too early to find Clint looking not unlike a racoon. He was entirely sure that this was through no planning by the beta in question, but it still made him wonder if he’d missed a step somewhere. It also made him wonder if anyone in his little collection of soulmates _slept_ other than Rhodey. He knew Bruce had a tendency not to, when he was home, which in turn inspired Tony not to sleep, because sleep deprived ideas were honestly sometimes the best ideas.

Rhodey had not been impressed with his logic when he’d caught them at it, and James always just frowned like ze wanted to chide, but had no idea where to start.

Still, there was nothing for it, and it wasn’t as though Tony hadn’t seen _this_ beta up and around at this hour before. In fact, 4 a.m. seemed to be prime soulmate catching time if he was being honest with himself, as he’d caught even Rhodey up at this hour once or twice. Admittedly, he was usually just crawling out of bed to do his exercise things, or arriving home from being deployed, rather than having stayed up like Bruce, James, or even Tony was prone to. All of this, however, meant that Tony knew how the system worked, as it had been in place long before he lived with any of them. The only difference was that with Clint around, the chances of the coffee maker already having coffee were doubled.

This morning was not one of those mornings. In fact, by the look of the pot, Clint had probably been up for at least an hour, because the machine was on, simply empty. Satisfied with the results of his deductions, Tony leaned against the counter to work on getting a new pot going, knowing better than to even try approaching the blond before he had some kind of offering. If there was any made food, he probably would have used that, since he was sure that Clint _really_ didn’t need any more caffeine, but he would make do. 

At least the offering of coffee seemed to work, pulling the blond from his staring contest with the bottom of his cup to actually look _around_.

“Hey there insomniac. You’re not looking like someone that got a whole hell of a lot of sleep last night.” When Tony’s comment only got him owlish blinking, he snorted and pushed the fresh cup closer to Clint, sipping on his own. “I take it back, you look like someone who didn’t sleep at all, did you?”

For a moment, Tony wasn’t sure he’d get an answer at all, but then the blond sighed, changing the empty cup for the new one and cradling it in both hands. “No.”

“Dare I ask _why_? I mean, were you working on something? Worried about work? What?” He raised his eyebrows, because sure, he knew that classified was a word he got around here a _lot_ , it still didn’t mean he’d stop asking.

At least it made Clint smile, even if it was somewhat drawn. “Nothing like that. Just a little trouble sleeping, honestly. It happens sometimes.”

Tony narrowed his eyes, staring back at the blond over the edge of his coffee cup, mulling over something he’d been considering for a while. “You know that any of you are welcome to come crawl in with me to sleep right? It’s not just an invitation extended to James and Rhodey.” When the blond opened his mouth like he was going to protest, Tony was quick to shake his head. “No, I mean it. I told Bruce ages ago, but somehow I think you got left out of the loop. It’s relaxing, having company when I sleep, and I do trust everyone who lives here. Now, if Hammer were to come over, there would definitely be some hard discussions, but you? Nah.”

There was a bit of a staring contest after that, as Clint searched for any sign of insincerity. Thankfully, for Tony’s peace of mind if nothing else, the blond finally gave him a solemn nod. It was short lived given he immediately seized on a new, less appreciated topic. “So, about Hammer. Has he made any headway with you?”

Even knowing he had only himself to blame for bringing up his errant soulmate, Tony still grimaced. In the wake of their last conversation the other weapon dealer had dropped his smear campaign, it was true, but he had intensified his obnoxious displays by a degree of ten. Not a day went by now where Tony failed to get some trinket, and usually they were utterly, completely, hideous. Even Hammer’s choice of flowers was somewhat horrible, often being the kinds of plants that stank to high heaven. “You know the answer to that is no. And don’t you laugh, I think he’s the reason Bruce went off to see about that project at Culver last week.”

Clint, looking a bit more alive with the fresh jolt of caffeine, just smirked. “Yeah, sure, that’s completely why. It had nothing to do with your ranting about your little stalker at the top of your lungs after he sent you a singing cat that caught _fire_. By itself.”

“Oh come on! You have to admit that that was beyond shit. If he’s going to send me presents, they should at least not turn into unintentional incendiaries.”

“It’s not like you planned to keep it anyway, so why are you complaining?”

The question made Tony pause, then scowl with a particularly aggressive drink of his coffee. Which he of course immediately burned himself on. Glaring into his cup in betrayal, Tony huffed, then looked back to the beta seated at the island across from where he was standing. “Just because I don’t want to keep them doesn’t mean he shouldn’t _try_. I mean, seriously, that is not how you win someone over.”

“And that’s why you spent the rest of the night once you were done ranting trying to figure out why it went up in flames?”

“Yes. I mean. No. I mean. I don’t even know what that question means, but that was a safety precaution, nothing else.”

“Yeah, sure it was. I think you’re enjoying having someone else shower you in gifts. You know, instead of you being the one doing the showering.”

“Am not. Do not. That’s not it at all.” Tony returned to drinking his coffee, or at least, he planned to, before realizing he really needed to give his tongue a chance to recover before doing that. He set it on the counter with a thump and crossed his arms instead. 

“ _Right_.” The sheer lack of believing Tony in Clint’s voice was intense, and when he got up to collect all three cups to stick them in the sink, he just raised his eyebrows at Tony. “I know who gave you those cufflinks you wore the other night Tony.”

Well, shit. Tony grimaced back at him, stubbornly staying in the way as the blond clicked off the coffee maker and started to amble away. “His taste isn’t completely terrible all the time.”

“Yeah, it really is. Those things are garish as fuck and you know it.” Turning around to walk backwards toward the door, the blond waggled his eyebrows at Tony. “He’s wearing you down.”

“He is not. I do not _wear down_ Clint.” 

The blond just _laughed_ at him and left the room instead of answering, much to Tony’s chagrin. He only did things like that when he knew he was right. If Tony was winning he always stayed to keep arguing.

“Damn it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long delay everyone. I'm going to go through and answer all the amazing comments you guys have been leaving on this story now that this is up. Thank you for sticking around!


	20. No Marks

Obadiah Stane was one of those rare people who had never had a soulmark. 

In fact, he was one of those people who had always taken pride in that fact, and had never striven to keep it secret the way some do. Tony had always respected that.

There were always theories about people who had no soulmarks. In Obadiah’s case especially, people liked to claim that it was because the beta was heartless and couldn’t love anyone. That was, of course, unfair in Tony’s estimation, given that they called him fickle and shallow for the exact opposite reason. Having too many.

Obadiah liked to claim that his lack of soulmarks, and in turn _soulmates_ , merely indicated that he was complete in and of himself. It was something to be proud of, like having the universe saying you didn’t need anyone to complete you, and that had always seemed especially poetic to Tony. And perhaps a little depressing as well, because if he ascribed to that logic, it meant that the universe thought he was full of holes that needed patching.

Tony’s opinion on the matter, however, had always been that Obadiah was one of those people who would only share his soul with his kid when, and if, he finally had one. Great rivals never phased him. He moved on from the loss of friends more gracefully than most. Him though, Tony, he’d always been there for. He’d always been a solid presence at his back no matter the circumstances. In fact, he could remember many times when he’d promised to talk to his father for him when they’d had a misunderstanding, and he’d never once faltered beside him after his parents had _died_. He could admit that he hadn’t handled any of it well, between the locating of his various soulmates and his own grief, which in turn meant that Obadiah had carried most of that load. His only complaints during that entire time were that he needed Tony to get it together and work with him, nothing else.

As far as he could see, those had always been traits that an amazing parent would have. They weren’t the marks of someone heartless or soulless, no matter what the media might like to claim about him.

Thus, given all of that, he couldn’t for the life of him understand why Rhodey had always been just that hair more protective when the beta was nearby, and had even gone so far as to say that the only person from the company he’d liaise with was Tony on one particularly bad day. When asked, Rhodey had always just told him that the beta made his instincts act up when he was around, but had been able to give him no more of a concrete answer with that. They were fine if they spent time together without Tony in the middle, he _knew_ that. In fact, the pair had had lunch from time to time to catch up and talk. 

It only fed Tony’s bewilderment on the whole matter. 

Still, even taking into account _all of that_ , there was a certain degree of ridiculous in the current situation. 

Obadiah had, of course, been told about his recent soulmate adventures. It wasn’t like he could, or even wanted to, keep them from a secret from his last remaining father figure. Somehow Tony had been under the impression that after being introduced that said soulmates would, well, go back to doing whatever they did when they weren’t hovering around his peripheral. Instead, Clint had planted himself to be leaning beside the doorway, and James had gone to stare out the window with the kind of stance that said ze wouldn’t be moving any time soon. 

Baffled, not to mention somewhat exasperated, he had sent a look of askance to Clint, but the beta had just given him an absent shrug and gestured for him to get to it.

Honestly. If they were this suspicious every time new people came around he was _never_ going to be able to take them _anywhere_. 

Obadiah, thankfully, seemed to be taking the whole thing in stride, and when Tony turned his attention back to him, wholly apologetic, it was to receive a warm, understanding smile that immediately made his shoulders ease. “Don’t worry about it Tony, I know they mean well. They both have the look of people with combat training, so I’ll just have to weather the scrutiny until they get used to me. Nothing to apologize for.”

He huffed a little laugh and nodded, moving over to sit on the couch near the beta, glancing to his soulmates one last time before a wry grin crossed his face. “Okay, point. They did almost take each other’s heads off when they first met, so I shouldn’t be surprised they’re acting like this, should I?”

“Probably not. It’s alright though, everyone makes mistakes sometimes.” Shaking his head, Obadiah lifted the folder he’d brought with him, offering it over to Tony. “Unfortunately, acclimation will have to wait. I know, I know, I just got back from being overseas, but someone has to do it and you’ve had bigger priorities.” He lifted his hand, cutting Tony off before he could say anything. “The company can wait a little longer, I’ve got it. You get yourself sorted out first. I know you haven’t abandoned any of the projects, and that’s what the company needs most from you, so anything else can hold a bit longer.”

“You’re sure?” He took the folder, flipping it open to look through even as he spoke. “I _have_ been trying to get coordinated on the board meetings at least in the last few months.”

“And I’m really glad you have been, because it probably would have gotten ugly if you hadn’t shown up to that one last month, but this works for now. You can get back into most of the distribution and contract shopping once you’re feeling up for it. I can at least do that much for you, right?” He lifted his gaze from the paperwork when the beta clasped his shoulder, and Tony immediately gave him a smile, wry.

“You do a lot more for me, for the _company_ , than that. I think things are mostly settled out and I can get back to work properly real soon, I promise. You won’t have to carry the load by yourself forever.”

Nodding, and obviously pleased to hear the news, Obadiah pulled his hand back and flapped the other one at the folder. “Perfect. In the meantime, I’ll be out of your hair as soon as I get a signature on those. I’m glad you’re doing better Tony, I really mean that.”

Laughing, Tony just bobbed his head in an understanding nod, already reaching for a pen. “Even the chaos that’s my life can’t keep me down long. I’m glad you’re in my corner.” The smile the words drew was genuine, and Tony was content to start flipping through the paperwork and signing without another word. In fact, he was mostly skimming for where to sign, trusting that everything would be in order.

Obadiah watched the process intently, and only answered once Tony handed the papers back and looked him in the eye. “Always, Tony. You never need to worry about my loyalties.”

“That’s a relief to hear, even if I already knew it was true.”

They shared a mutual laugh at that comment, and if the two sharing space with them never took their attention off the pair before Obadiah left, well. 

Tony would just chalk that up to paranoia.


	21. Timing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still working on this! Thank you to all of you and your kind words. I'll be responding to comments now that I have this posted. I promise I haven't ignored a single one. I just figured you guys would rather have more story than just me chattering about it. Also! To those of you who catch grammar or phrasing mistakes, I always try to fix them when they're pointed out to me, so thank you guys for letting me know too!

By the time Tony’s twenty-fifth birthday rolled around, he’d come to terms with several interesting facts. 

One of these facts was that his life would never, _ever_ be calm again. While it was true that he’d never aspired to be a wallflower that stayed at home with the kids, so to speak, there was a difference between that and what he’d ended up getting. Now, that’s not to say that he didn’t adore his soulmates, he did. He’d even grudgingly started to come to terms with the fact that he didn’t actively despise Hammer anymore even. In fact, he’d progressed to the point where he allowed the beta to come up and speak with him at events now, which was its own brand of hilarity. Those who had seen the multi-year game of chase clearly didn’t trust the truce to last, he could tell, and it would be only a matter of time in their eyes before the two caused a scene.

Which was fine by Tony. Not that they expected a scene, no, but that they’d kept their eyes on Hammer and had looked no farther. He didn’t want them to look at his assassin or his secret agent man. He wanted his scientist to progress through his field on his own merits... with maybe a little financial backing. And he definitely didn’t want anyone in the military to fuck with Rhodey’s career, so this worked for him. They could watch him and Hammer, be oblivious that he had a child made of code, and leave his other soulmates in peace.

It worked. 

Still.

Sometimes, Tony wondered what he’d done in another life to get this one. It wasn’t a bad life, far from it, but things... well. Things were never quite what he expected them to be on any given day, and somehow, this day, no, this _event_ , was one of those situations. Which brought to mind fact number two. His soulmates were all very motivated people who would do what they would do, regardless of their attachment to him. If they had something that needed to take priority, like, say, a career or super spy related event, then that would _be_ the priority. Which was more than fine, he wasn’t exactly the kind to stifle his loved ones, but sometimes...

By some kind of baffling twist of fate, he was alone. He was in another _country_ and didn’t have his entourage. Bruce was in Indiana, negotiating for a position on a project there, Rhodey was deployed god knew where at the moment, Hammer was miraculously caught in some kind of situation domestically with his company, and both Clint and James were chasing a lead about the family’s littlest soulmate. He hadn’t fallen through the cracks, exactly, but it was unshakably true that he had come to a public event in Europe without some kind of protection. He knew he didn’t _need_ it most days, and certainly didn’t feel like he did this time, but he still felt like he was missing his shadow. 

Which led to point number three. He’d never been so conscious of how vulnerable he really was until he’d felt protected for a while. He’d never been the kind of guy to have bodyguards in excess, always taking care of himself as much as possible, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t appreciated Rhodey any time the alpha was around. In the time that he’d had a full compliment of over-protective soulmates, he’d gotten used to having someone lurking around, making sure that no one he was interacting with had ill-intent in his general direction.

Suffice to say, that lack of security wasn’t exactly his favorite feeling in the world, but done was done. He didn’t need to try to summon up soulmates just because he felt a little lost. He wasn’t one of _those_ omegas. Tony could take care of Tony, just like any other adult out there. So what if that meant that he was just a little more intent on what the people around him were saying than normal? So what if he had maybe a few more drinks than he probably otherwise would have? _So what_ if he happened to miss having someone lurking the edges of the room watching him? 

It didn’t matter.

Until it did, with fact number four.

The thing about the abilities of an omega that always got undersold was the ability to read people. Mostly scent related, it often left a person able to look someone in the eye and figure out all kinds of things. Those with training could detect something _wrong_ with someone a mile away. Others could scent the sickness even without that training, had to breathe around the stench of it. Tony was an omega that had learned to mostly ignore his sense of smell. It was too sensitive, picked up too many things that were completely useless to him on a day to day basis. Sure, he could whip it out if he was concerned about someone, which he’d done at home more than once, or was trying to get an angle on someone for a business deal, but more casual events? He usually didn’t scent the air unless he was trying to read someone specific. Too much perfume, too many people with too many motives. It was more likely to give him a headache than the information he wanted. After all, this kind of event was geared toward betas, and everyone knew their sense of smell tended to be the least sensitive.

It was annoying, but it was what it was. Which was unfortunate, because it meant that Tony was already accepting an introduction from someone, taking their hand to shake, before he registered the overly sweet sharpness that screamed ‘wrongness’ on just about every level wafting off their skin. He knew as soon as he took the hand that it had been a mistake, the beta in front of him hanging onto the grip tightly even as Tony tried to retreat from the odd tingling numbness sweeping up from his palm. He knew if he’d been paying attention that this wouldn’t be happening. He knew that if he’d at least been a _little less drunk _that his reaction time might have been quick enough to snatch his hand back before he could be _drugged_. __

__Which led to the fifth, and final, point that Tony had learned in the time that he’d had his soulmates. They were a protective bunch, and not one of them would hesitate to do what they needed to do in protection of their home and family, even peaceful Bruce. He strongly suspected that whoever this guy was, that they would be _deeply regretting_ this situation by the time all was said and done. At the very least, Tony was rapidly coming to realize that his soulmates were never going to let him go anywhere alone again if he managed to get home again. _ _

__And Tony really really wanted to go home now. He was done. No more party time for him._ _

__He just wished he could do something to convey that to the universe, because he sincerely doubted that collapsing on the spot was going to do it._ _

__Which sucked, because he was pretty sure that he’d fainted magnificently._ _


	22. Shaky Stage

The next few days were a blur for Tony, shaded with tones of white and painfully invasive. He knew they were keeping him drugged, in a vague way, and the scent of lemon cleaner invaded every second of near coherency. He didn’t know how long he was there, in that between place of haze and unconsciousness, but awareness came to him all at once when he finally clawed his way out of it. 

He wasn’t in that place anymore. He wasn’t anywhere he _recognized_ , but he most certainly wasn’t in _that place_ anymore. He wasn’t bound, and he was laying on something soft, which at the moment felt novel and strange. It said quite a bit about how addled he was that it took him longer to recognize that his pillow was warm and smelled familiar, safe. In fact, that scent had always meant safety, as long as he could remember. Still, why was she _here_? And where was here for that matter? 

Unfortunately, when he tried to ask these questions, all that left his throat was a low whine, embarrassing and not at all what he’d been aiming for, because his throat practically closed on itself, feeling parched and dry. Painful. Still, it got his Aunt Peggy’s eyes to drop down toward his face, alert and searching, with a rage deep and intense burning behind the worry. 

Tony knew it probably said a lot about him that all he could think at first was that _someone_ was in trouble, but he sincerely hoped that it was the people who did... whatever was done. Already, memories of the last few days were fading into a haze of unpleasantness and lemon with safety and coherency so charmingly close to replace them. Either way, he knew that the rage wasn’t directed at him. No, he knew this song and dance from the last time his Aunt had rescued him from somewhere unpleasant, even if it had been over a decade previous. 

In any case, she seemed to have determined whatever it was she needed to, because she finally spoke, her tone giving away nothing but scolding concern despite what he saw in her face. “Anthony Edward Stark, you are _not_ allowed to scare me like that anymore. When Agent Barton contacted me to say you weren’t at their meet up after your party, it about gave me a heart attack.”

He gave her a helpless grimace of a smile in turn, which prompted her to fish a water bottle out of a cup holder nearby... and made him realize they were in the back of a moving vehicle. Well, if that wasn’t just charming. It did explain why the soulmates weren’t on hand though. She was careful as she helped him drink, his hands far from coordinated enough for him to do it by himself just yet.

“Tony, I know that you felt it would be fine, but we both know that will never be the case with you. No more going places overseas alone. I’m sure your soulmates will take care of that for me after this, but someone’s first and sole focus needs to be taking care of you. If you have to hire someone, do it, but no more of this.” Her voice got a bit quieter and she sighed, running her fingers over his hair. “You’re involved in a lot of heavy things these days, and you can’t take the risk, understand?”

Tony made a noise of discontent, then cleared his throat, finally feeling like his voice would cooperate. It still sounded a bit wrecked. God, had he been screaming? He was not loving the idea that he’d been screaming. “Was just a party.”

By which he’d meant to imply that he’d been to parties alone before, and it was more than clear that she got the message if the thunderous look on her face was any indication. She really _could_ be pretty frightening, objectively. It might have worked better if she wasn’t still fussing over him. “It was _not_ just a party young man! It was an international meeting with inadequate security, lowered observation levels, people you didn’t know, and a _particularly careless Stark_ standing around unprotected!”

He winced as her voice actually raised a little, and his gaze skittered away from her to examine the car, because it was definitely a car, with the sky racing by outside the window over his head and his legs curled up against the door. Still, he couldn’t be distracted by that for long, because her fingers in his hair were the tiniest bit shaky, and the last thing he ever wanted was to cause anyone this kind of distress. He was far from looking forward to what his myriad of soulmates were going to say once they got where they were going. And there was no doubt in his mind they’d all be there either. “Didn’t mean to Peg.”

“I am well aware of what you meant to do young man, and I am not impressed.” She paused for a moment, then heaved a rough sigh. “This whole mess wasn’t without a benefit, as it gave us information we’d been completely oblivious to about a problem within SHIELD, but you are not to do it again, understand?”

He blinked, once, then twice, more slowly. “Yeah, okay. No more getting kidnapped. Got it.”

She searched his face carefully, then nodded primly. “Good man. I already had a _talk_ with your soulmates about what sort of timing is appropriate for leaving you alone, and what sort is not.”

By which she meant that she’d reamed them good and they were never going to forget a word of it. Fuck. Okay, so that would be fun to handle, and probably had not lowered the general worry levels of the group at large. _Yay_. One thing was baffling him though, because seriously, why was it his Aunt Peggy he was in the lap of? “Didn’t any of them come with you?” 

“They did. Even Rhodes managed to get away from his duties to help in the search for you. I just happened to find you first. The others have been contacted and will be meeting up with us at our destination in about thirteen minutes.” She narrowed her eyes, sweeping her gaze over him in a last pass. “Rest until we get there, you look terrible.”

Tony snorted once, softly, at the order, but let his eyes slide closed none the less. His head was aching, his voice sounded wrecked, and moving seemed impossible. Yeah, he could see why she said as much. He had more questions, all of which were unfortunately escaping him, so he could take a little micro-nap. 

He had little doubt he was going to need the energy.

Fussing could be exhausting.


	23. Reconvene

When Tony next opened his eyes, it was because he was being lifted into someone’s arms while still mostly asleep. 

Oddly, he hadn’t particularly expected that someone to be James. This might have been because Rhodey had always fussed over him when he was younger, or even because Clint seemed the type of guy to feel guilty and rush to the front to make things right. Either way, that wasn’t who he woke up to, though he couldn’t particularly find it in him to complain. 

While one always knew that all their soulmates were equally important, that never meant that a person didn’t have their favorites for certain things. If he had to pick just one someone to carry him around, it would have been James just about a hundred percent of the time. Sure, ze wasn’t the tallest in the household, but the few times ze’d done it, ze’d always been incredibly careful with Tony.

Thus, on reflection, he didn’t even know why he’d been surprised. He did know that his waking had been noticed though, because the alpha tucked him closer against their chest, arms tightening fractionally to keep him secure. Which was his cue to actually pay a little more attention to his surroundings beyond a dazed sort of appreciation for how warm his alpha was. 

Those drugs really were a doozy. He’d have to make sure that someone took blood so that he could examine what he’d been dosed with. Though, after a glance around revealed that Bruce was practically dancing in place as he kept pace with James, he was pretty sure he didn’t have to worry too much about that. It was Bruce’s area, after all, and by the look on the beta’s face, he wasn’t about to leave any stone unturned in making sure he was perfectly alright. There was a disturbingly giddy sort of relief to that, to the knowing that he didn’t need to let a doctor actually get at him to get his answers.

He really _really_ didn’t want to examine the why of that very closely, and he hid his face back against James with a hard shiver. The gesture was enough to get a low rumble back, some weird cross of a hum and a growl that ultimately was bizarrely soothing. Tony wouldn’t even pretend that his immediate fascination for the sound was anything but a desperate bid to distract himself, and he suspected that his assassin was fully aware of it. Ze most certainly didn’t stop making the noise for him, in any case, and Tony let the spike of tension ease out of his body.

Still, the gesture was enough to immediately get Bruce’s eyes to focus on him, and Tony knew the other scientist wasn’t about to stay quiet. Not with the way he was nearly vibrating as they passed through a doorway into somewhere cooler than the outside. “Tony?”

“'m awake yeah.” Tony almost wished he hadn’t spoken after doing so, grimacing into the combat material he was hiding his face against. His voice still sounded wrecked, and there was no way he’d be able to prove he was even remotely good until that let up. He certainly wasn’t about to look and see what glance his soulmates were exchanging over his head though, even if he _could_ practically feel them doing it in the way the arms holding him moved. 

Bruce apparently was willing to accept whatever it was he saw in James’ face because he continued talking. “Jim is due in about ten minutes. He was further out than the rest of us and had to cross a country line to get back here so he was delayed.” 

Tony huffed at the news, which made sense, though didn’t explain where the hell Clint was, and he lifted his head to give Bruce a disgruntled glance. “His name’s Rhodey.”

Bruce’s expression softened at they made eye contact, and he shook his head. “No, _you_ call him Rhodey, and that’s fine, but we’ve agreed that I can call him Jim and you know that perfectly well.”

Tony grumbled a little, glancing up to James, but all he got from that corner was a slight eyebrow lift and what looked like indulgence. Insofar as the alpha ever showed it at least. Ze’d been getting better about that at least, before all this, so that was good. He had no idea how far that progress might be set back by his own situation, or if it would have any effect at all. After a moment, his head turned back toward Bruce, though he couldn’t help taking in the lights and the less than homey surroundings that told him that wherever he was wasn’t a private residence. 

He did his best to ignore it. “But Brucie, he likes the name Rhodey.”

“I’m sure he does, but that’s your name for him, so I’ll save that for special occasions.” And then Bruce reached over and _patted him on the head_. 

Tony had no idea what to make of this and was stymied into silence, his gaze darting back to James as though to ask if that had just happened. All he got for his efforts was a squish that he presumed was an attempt at a reassuring squeeze. Or an attempt to quell laughter? But no, he doubted it was that. Still. It meant Tony squinted back and forth between the two for a few more paces, only to be startled half out of his skin at a loud exclamation from the direction he _hadn’t_ been looking. 

“Oh thank fuck! You’re here! Okay, so, Stark, guess who got their ass handed to him for not doing his job like a good bodyguard slash soulmate by his boss? You guessed it. This guy.” Tony had jerked and twisted to look at the blond the moment he’d started talking, and had to blink at how rough the man was looking. He rather resembled someone who had gone toe to toe with an irritated tiger and lost. He had bandages _everywhere_. “You, my friend, will be lucky to even shower alone for a while because fuck if I ever want to experience that again.”

Tony blinked owlishly for a moment, and his voice was even more of a croak than before. “The hell happened to you? Aunt Peggy didn’t...?”

Clint seemed to pause at the question, glancing down at himself, then back, before his eyes widened in understanding. “Ah! No. Nothing like that. This was uh, related to finding you, but not from her. She’s the verbal lashing kind of boss, not the beat you into the ground kind. I’m not very good at getting people to give up gracefully and the big fella over there was a little busy to cover me when this happened.” He lifted his hands, clearly trying to be placating. “It’s fine, we’re good. We got you back and that was the important part.”

Tony stared at him for a moment later, then turned his gaze to Bruce, unsure why he was so upset that Clint had been hurt trying to find him, just knowing that that explanation had been far from soothing. “Bruuuuce?” And if his request for more information came in the form of a whine, no one could blame him.

“He had to be brought back before you from the same location because part of a wall fell on him when he tried to stop your abductors from fleeing the area. James met him here and Peggy told him to wait with us until you were brought back by her.”

Tony grimaced at this information, then looked to James, who was staring back at him intently, his jaw set. “Ah. Well, here now? You been here the whole time Bruce?” He reached up with a shaky hand and put his palm against his alpha’s face as ze apparently deigned to sit on what seemed to be a bed, though the room didn’t much smell of medicine, thank god. His gaze once again flit back to Bruce.

“No. I was still on my way over from the states when I got the news that you’d been found. It was harder to get a flight with your plane already over here. I think I’d just landed when I got the call of where to meet you guys. I got here about the same time James did.” He nodded over at the alpha, then moved to help Clint to sit beside the other two, at which point the blond promptly leaned against James’ side where Tony could reach him. Tony took this as an invitation to do so, demandingly reaching out a hand to grab onto Clint’s pant leg for the contact of it.

“Do any of you know what I was grabbed for? Was there a ransom?”

When silence followed the question, Tony cast worried eyes from one person to another, finally landing on James, who was shaking their head in a slow negative.

Well, shit. 

He’d just have to wait for his Aunt Peggy to fill him in then.


	24. Uninformative Information

Much to Tony’s disappointment, his Aunt Peggy was not, actually, the font of information that he’d rather hoped she’d be. 

In fact, she was so much not the font of information that he’d hoped she’d be that he’d learned exactly three things and nothing more. First, SHIELD agents had been involved. Second, a _HYDRA_ agent had been involved. And third, not to mention most creepily given facts number one and two, that they had tried to pull genetics off him, which had been thankfully dealt with. Hopefully? That part had been a little unclear, lost under her downright intense stare as she’d stared Clint down and told him he was On Leave until she personally cleared him. 

Clint had wisely _not argued_ with her. 

Tony, on looking over at the blond, could admit that this probably had to do more with the fact that he was warm and comfortable than with any sense of self-preservation said beta might actually have. In the time since they’d arrived Tony had slept, been woken by a worried Rhodey no less than twice, once to check him over when he’d first arrived, once to feed him, and had Bruce take blood then prod him over from pretty much head to toe for any hidden damage. Between these various pokes and proddings, he’d managed to wrestle Clint horizontal, and they were both using James’ lap as a pillow while they recovered. Thus, warm and sleepy Clint had been achieved.

Said pillow wasn’t exactly as comfy as ze’d been before his Aunt had swept in though, to Tony’s eternal disappointment, and he turned his head to give James a long stare as the tension failed to abate immediately. 

Nap time was totally over it seemed, though thank god he no longer sounded like his voice was going to crack in half. Which was great, because it meant his throat clearing actually got both the room’s other occupants to _look at him_ instead of staring at the door and fretting about their respective concerns. “So that happened.”

Okay, maybe his voice wasn’t as recovered as he’d have liked, but the wryness was clear at the very least. It was no effort at all to lift a hand to rest across Clint’s mouth before the beta could speak and interrupt the momentum he was trying to build here.

“So that _happened_ , and now Aunt Peg has it in hand. It’s not awesome, but she’s efficient and terrifying, and I think that’s more than enough to get the job done, _right_?” This was directed at Clint more than anything, and the blond huffed against his hand, licking his fingers instead of agreeing. Tony took it as one anyway. “Right. Which means she knows when to ask for our help. She also knows how to use her resources, and by this I mean you Clint. If she wants you on leave instead of officially assigned to me right now, there must be a good reason.”

When the blond actually looked like he was thinking about it, Tony removed his hand from his mouth, satisfied that his point had been made. However, the blond wasn’t the only one there, and James finally spoke, using their voice for the first time since Tony had been recovered from his kidnappers. Tony could admit that this was something of a relief, even if the content that he was being presented with was less than charming. 

“She did not appear to be entirely surprised about the HYDRA agent existing.” Ze hesitated, using one of those odd pauses ze did sometimes, and the alpha’s flesh and blood hand lifted to brush down Tony’s cheek. “Merely angry with the news of what they had been doing. That they had involved you. It is not impossible that my departure from their ranks has made you into a target.”

Tony blinked, though he wasn’t the one who answered as Clint was already on it, the tattered beta shoving up into a seated position. “Hey, no. No. She said genetics, and that means they were after him for his own pretty ass, not because you might have been touching said ass.” Tony and Clint shared a quick smirk before the blond turned his gaze back to the alpha. “Which you haven’t been, right? We’re friends, you would have told me something important like that, right?”

The question drew a snort out of James, and the alpha finally started to relax, turning their gaze down to Tony with that well of fondness showing that had been slowly growing over the last year. “I doubt it would remain secret if we took such a step.” The hand that had been touching Tony’s face settled on his chest, gently pressing the omega down against their folded legs as the moment of levity faded. “We will take more care in the future. This happened because we were not careful with you.”

Tony pulled a face, but when Clint tapped his shoulder to draw his eyes back that way, the blond was rather solemn looking. “They’re right you know. We weren’t careful, and us,” he waved a hand between him and James, “We’re more responsible for this happening than anyone else. Yeah, we want to find little Natalia, it’s important, but that’ll mean jack shit if we lose you in the process because we leave you unprotected. I do a lot of stupid things Stark, but I’d like to think putting my soulmates in unneeded danger won’t become one of the reoccurring ones.”

“Guys, c’mon, I know that you thought I’d be safe. It _was_ a very public place and there were plenty of people to keep an eye out.”

“None were us. We are trained to evaluate threats.” James’ hushed voice stilled Tony’s protests, and he released a rough breath, knowing that there would be no arguing with either of them while they were being like this.

“Fine. Okay. You feel guilty I got hurt. I forgive you. In fact, I’ll even hire someone whose _whole job_ will be keeping an eye on me and pitching a fit if anyone looks at me funny. Will that do it? Will that settle you guys down so that when you need to go off on a lead, then you’ll _do it_ instead of hesitating and missing a possible window? I mean, I have the money, and all of you will get to vet whoever I pick.”

“Yeaaah, about that.” Clint glanced toward the door, then back. “Where did you think Rhodes _was_ exactly? He’s been peeking in here every few minutes, and I’m pretty sure he’s been calling security firms and talking with JARVIS when he hasn’t been in here. That, and talking to the military. Pretty sure I heard him discussing how long he’d get his emergency leave for. You being you means he gets more leeway than most people. Lucky.” Clint shook his head, then winced as that pulled at some injury or another, and just gave a lopsided smile at Tony instead. “It’ll happen.”

“Well gee, put like that, it makes me feel all kinds of in control of my personal safety.”

James lightly patted where their hand had been resting. “You have never been in control of your personal safety.”

“Hey!”

Clint was nodding though, clearly agreeing with the statement. “Yeah, that’s true, I’ve been told stories about you as a kid and teen. You’re as bad as I am.”

“Hey I said! And I so am not. You’re way worse.”

Clint just flashed him a smirk and raised both eyebrows at him. “Riiiiight. You just keep telling yourself that Tony.”

Tony would have liked to argue, he really would have, but he instead fell into a pout. For two reasons. First, it was really aggravating to argue with Clint when he got into ‘yeah, uh huh, sure’ mode. And second, he could feel the light vibrations of repressed laughter under his shoulder from James.

Laughter won over winning, hands down, so he’d just have to suck it up and pretend he’d lost the debate.

But only because he adored his soulmates, not because he was _actually_ losing.

Because he totally hadn’t been losing.

Really.


	25. Guards

As far as Tony was concerned, Rhodey’s taste in bodyguards was shit. That wasn’t to say that the alpha didn’t have high standards, because he did. In fact, he’d go so far as to say that all of his ‘bodyguard’ options the week after he got home were so ridiculously overqualified as to be absurd. 

That in and of itself was not the problem. 

No, the problem was that this was them looking for someone who was supposed to be on call 24/7 in case Tony needed to go somewhere or do something and the others were busy. The problem was that all these people were horrible stoic faces who he took one look at and immediately sent home. 

And maybe Rhodey hadn’t exactly been thrilled that his hard work had been thwarted like that, but if he was gonna have a security person, he was gonna have one that he wouldn’t feel awkward _talking to_. This was meant to be a lifelong commitment! He was putting his life under someone’s observation here, and by god it was going to be someone he didn’t take one look at and nope away from.

Because no. 

Rhodey didn’t seem to share his opinion, and the others were no help, staying well clear of the argument as the alpha followed him around the house. 

“Tony, Tones, sugarplum, this is _not_ how bodyguards work. They’re not supposed to be someone you’re friends with. They’re supposed to be someone you’re _protected by_ , and all of those people had amazing recommendations on their side. You didn’t even _meet_ them before telling them to leave.” 

Tony, having thought he’d been pretty clear on the first three passes, had had about enough at this point. He loved Rhodey, he did, and he always would, but he kind of wanted him to _drop it_ already. And the alpha was doing that thing where he blocked the door with his stupidly tall self. _Asshole._ “Well, Rhodey. Much as you are the light of my life and the sweetest part of my day, right now you’re being a tart. And absolute _tart_.”

Rhodey’s eyes widened, and he straightened up. “Oh, come on, I am not. I’m just worried about you.”

“You are so!” Tony flung both hands up in the air. “I get it, I was hurt. I was grabbed from a public place and that freaked you out. But this isn’t how this works Rhodey.” He moved over to his best friend, putting both hands on his chest and giving him a light shove as he stared up into his face. His voice got a bit softer at the expression he found there. “It’s _not_.”

The alpha brought up both hands, putting them over Tony’s with a sharp huff. “If anyone’s being a tart, it’s you.”

Tony couldn’t help it, and his lips twitched up. “Blueberry tart with whipped cream maybe.”

That prompted an immediate head shake as his soulmate leaned down and bumped their foreheads together. “Nope, absolutely a rhubarb tart with no sugar at all.”

“That’s cold.” Tony could feel himself thawing, his irritation leaving him as he grumbled.

“You didn’t even meet them. You are totally rhubarb right now.”

Tony rolled his eyes, grumbling under his breath wordlessly for a moment. “Fine. _But!_ You have to let me look on my own first. If I can’t find someone that meets the needs _I_ think I need in a bodyguard in that time, then I’ll tell you and you can call back your stone cold buzzcuts. Deal?”

Rhodey narrowed his eyes, sensing a trap, but sighed none the less and lifted his head to kiss Tony on the forehead as he released him. “Fine. It’s a deal. _Two days, Tony_.”

Tony held up both hands placatingly, then flashed him a smirk. “Two days.” He inched around Rhodey, heading for the hallway. As soon as he was sure he had a clear shot down to his workshop, he called back over his shoulder. “I’m going to go look now. Bye Rhodey!”

“Wait. What do you mean ‘bye’? Tony!” The exclamation was alarmed, and Rhodey had just enough time to pivot on his heel to follow before Tony launched into a dead sprint and vanished around the corner, making a beeline for his workshop and cars.

Success was sweet, and the hovering had been getting _ridiculous_.


	26. Personal Guard

Tony knew before he’d even reached the city proper that he could have handled the argument better. 

He knew that he could have explained why first impressions even _mattered_ at all when he was so good at getting along with just about anyone given a little work. He could have. He probably should have even, but Tony could do this on his own. Yes, he had all these soulmates around now, but he’d always been an independent soul, and it had burned to know that Rhodey hadn’t even had a bit of faith that he could do this without his help.

Yes, he’d never set it up before, he knew that, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t have on his own. 

He wasn’t an incompetent idiot who would ignore what was right in front of his face. 

Still, as Tony sat in the parking lot outside the Malibu offices for Stark Industries, he had to let himself have a grim little smile. The military folks he handled would have gotten it, understood the guards weren’t some sign of weakness on his part, but the business world was different. It was filled with fronts and glamour and quiet deals made at parties.

Those were the people who chose bodyguards with care, because who you picked reflected on you. He could have a retinue, no problem, people who could disperse and keep an eye on things, but the lead guy, the one who stuck close? That person couldn’t be an obvious clean cut military guy. That person had to be someone who put people at ease, not someone who scared them off. He could have, probably _should_ have explained that to Rhodey, but he knew Rhodey was just worried.

They were all just worried.

Tony put his forehead on the wheel of his car, staring up at the building with his name on it for a long moment more before shaking his head on a weak laugh. He had no idea how his dad had handled this bullshit at his age. He hadn’t even _known_ any of his soulmates yet at his age, after all, so that had to have made things harder. Or maybe it was just different for his dad altogether. After all, the guy said he’d built everything. Maybe people just hadn’t _cared_ enough to make his life harder than it already was when he was this age. 

It was definitely an option. 

Still, Tony was sitting in a car with AC blowing on his face, and that wasn’t ideal for anyone in this part of California, especially not at the tail end of summer. So he forcibly shook himself from his thoughts, turned on his car properly, and made himself actually go somewhere with people. He could get some food at the boardwalk, think about his game plan, then go home to make up his bolting to Rhodey. He knew he’d be forgiven, sure, but he didn’t savor needing to explain why he had been acting like such a brat about everything.

Explaining sucked.

Still, it was a nice day at the beach, a little cloudy, a lot windy, with good waves for the people who were into that. It was almost enough to make Tony want to head home and collect everyone right then and there, but he honestly couldn’t stand the thought of one more concerned look today, so that was right out. Which yes, might have made him feel a little guilty, because it was his own fault he’d scared the bejesus out of them in the first place. He got that. He did. 

He just wanted a little breathing space, and this entire thing with Rhodey had just made him feel like he was suddenly going to be treated like some helpless pack omega and that was not okay. That was so far from okay that everything in him had reared up and bared its teeth and that was not a good thing for anyone to be on the opposite side of. Nobody wanted to deal with a Tony Stark who felt like he was being slighted because of his sex, that was for sure.

Tony snorted, finally coming to a stop at a bench in his wandering, ice cream in hand as he sat next to an alpha that looked incredibly grumpy and more than a little put out. Poor thing must have been having some rough luck with something if the sheaf of papers in their hand were any kind of indication. Still, he got a good vibe from them, and that was enough for Tony to at least relax and eat his ice cream in peace. He could people watch comfortably just about anywhere, sure, but people were always more inclined to mind their own business when you looked like you already had company. Mostly.

Today was apparently not going to be one of those days, and a small passel of idiots had drifted over, a mix of betas and alphas from the smell of it, to pester. Tony, at first, simply pretended they didn’t exist, ignoring everything they’d been saying and focused on his ice cream with the kind of focus that only the truly enthralled could achieve. And it wasn’t so much an act really, he loved the creamery on the boardwalk and they’d had his favorite flavor today. Clearly, this was not the correct answer to the tallest of the betas, and the fucker actually made to snag his ice cream. Because _that_ would ever get a favorable reaction out of anyone. Ever. No.

Still, none of them were as surprised as Tony when the asshole never managed to get close enough to make contact. Which, right. He’d forgotten all about the alpha he’d plunked down beside, and he blinked in baffled confusion as the slightly soft looking figure actually _got up_ and glared at the lot of beach bimbos who were far more intimidating in stature. The poor thickheaded things clearly had no idea how to handle this, and there were multiple exchanged glances, and even some mumbled apologies, before they fled. 

That glare had been more effective, and probably a good deal less scathing, than anything he would have had to employ to get the same reaction. Today seemed to be intent on reminding him over and over again why being an omega could suck, good lord.

Still, he hadn’t expected the alpha to turn around and look at him in _apology_ as soon as the pack was out of earshot. “I’m sorry about that, Mr. Stark. I know that you could have handled them just fine, but you look like your day has been going about as well as mine, and nobody needs to deal with unwanted advances like that in a bad mood.” 

When the alpha started gathering up their papers, Tony lifted his free hand, quickly intercepting and making the task more difficult. “Hold up, you don’t have to leave because of those assholes. I’m not really mad. Just a little frustrated that today is like that. It’s not on you. Thanks for helping.” He paused a beat. “So... you clearly know who I am. What’s made your day miserable? Tell me yours and I’ll tell you mine.”

The request got a snort, and the alpha gently shoved his hand off his papers so ze could collect them and retake their seat. Ze ended up turning the top one around to show it was a sheaf of resumes. “The job market has been not in my favor. I just heard back from the gym I was trying to get on at and they ‘politely declined’ my resume. They’re the fourth this week.”

“Really?” Tony blinked, reaching out to take one of the resumes and flipping it open to the skim the contents. “Harold huh? You go by Harry or something? Because I’m not calling you that.” He glanced to the alpha, who looked torn between amusement and exasperation, and flashed a smile before continuing his perusal. “You don’t look it, but you’re actually pretty qualified for what you were trying to do. What gives?”

“I think it was an image thing. Wouldn’t do to have someone a little soft looking in a trainer position. I’ll nail one in eventually.” 

When ze reached to take the papers back, Tony held it away from them, even going so far as switching what hand was holding it so that the alpha had to go through the remainder of his ice cream to get it back if ze was determined enough to try. “Or you could not.”

Well, that seemed to have stopped the other in his tracks, and Tony popped the end of his cone into his mouth, finishing that off before even bothering to continue. Still, he could see that the alpha, while a little affronted, hadn’t stormed off at the possible insult of such a statement. Promising.

“I mean, I’m setting up a private security detail right now, and sure, you’re more weight lifting and boxing than eagle eyes, but you seem to have pretty good awareness of when you should and shouldn’t step into things, and that’s pretty important in my circles.” He flashed him an absolutely charming smile. “And no, you’re not even remotely threatening, but I think I rather like that. You’re a he, right? This thing says you like he at least. So, Mr. Hogan, what do you say? Want a job? You still have one more interview you gotta pass, and you’re going to have to pick a team to work with from some seriously well-vetted veterans my military soulmate picked out. Oh, and your hours will be all over the map, that won’t be a problem, right? I mean, if this will fuck up your life I can fall back on plan B, but I rather like you.”

The flummoxed expression on the alpha’s face was priceless, and he cleared his throat before trying to answer him. Tony could be patient. Sure, he hadn’t _really_ planned to bring home a personal bodyguard, and if the guy accepted the poor thing was going to be put through some pretty vigorous paces, but he couldn’t bring himself to regret it. Finally, however, he got his answer. “I’d like that very much Mr. Stark. When would you like to do that?”

Tony beamed at him, then handed back the resume as he hopped to his feet. “Now. You drive? It’d be great if you could drive.”

Looking slightly alarmed, Hogan, and wow Tony needed to get on a nickname, stat, got to his feet, quickly gathering his papers and hanging onto them. “I can drive, but I don’t have a car. I’ve been using a bicycle to get around town since I moved here.” He clearly saw the humor in that and gave a sheepish smile back in answer to Tony’s pitying look. “No gas fees you know.”

That got Tony to snort, and he shook his head. “C’mon. You grab your bike and we’ll head back to my house. If you pass with the soulmates, then you’re in. Good luck buddy.”

“Wait. What do you mean good luck?”

When Tony just gave the alpha a mysterious smile, he looked far from comforted.

Still, it said a lot when he didn’t hesitate in pointing out where his bike was anyway.


	27. Unimpressed

Tony wasn’t really sure what he had expected to have happen when he got home, but somehow, it being James practically bowling him over was not it. Well, not this James. Rhodey, he’d kind of expected to be lurking in pounce, but his assassin? No, definitely not.

Still, it made it no less surreal when his new find, dubbed Happy on the drive over, was utterly dismissed after a particularly intense glower on behalf of the alpha, who was nearly _lifting him off the floor_ , and who was sniffing him all over like he was some errant toddler that had decided to try and hide being sick. It was, put simply, incredibly embarrassing, and if he’d thought that Rhodey had effective scolding methods, it had nothing on being treated like a child in this particular fashion.

That the alpha clutched him to their chest immediately after and turned suspicious eyes on Happy a moment later was both sweet and exasperating. Tony didn’t try to wrestle free though, and knew that JARVIS had already alerted the others to him not only being home, but to the fact he’d brought company along. Why he’d expected this to go more calmly he _had no idea_ , but somehow, he’d just expected a scolding and an explanation to accompany the introductions. Only _after_ that had he expected for them to get all cautious at the new guy, but no. 

Of course not. 

Bruce was the next person on the scene, and Happy, smart alpha that he was, instantly zeroed in on the beta as a possibly friendly in for the situation, and cleared his throat, one hand lifting to be offered at once. “Harold Hogan, though Mr. Stark has dubbed me Happy and that’s not actually a bad nickname as far as my options go. He said something about me having to pass with the rest of you before I could be hired...?”

Bruce’s eyes narrowed for a moment, and he examined the alpha for a beat before reaching and taking his hand, giving it a firm shake. “You understand we’ll have to check your credentials if you’re going to have Tony’s care in your hands. We have military folk in the household and they have incredibly high standards.” 

Tony watched in surprise as Bruce smoothly ferried the alpha inside and away from where he’d been caught in the doorway, suddenly having concern for his new find that he hadn’t before. And because of _Bruce_ of all people. Well. If the guy couldn’t hack it, better to know sooner than later. 

Still, in the silence that followed, he reluctantly turned his gaze back up toward James, who was staring down at him intently, eyes slightly narrowed. Ze hadn’t eased his hold on him any. That was... not the most reassuring sensation ever, even if he really wanted it to be.

“So, I’m home. And I found someone who should work for a good primary security guy for the circles I run in. You know, nondescript but observant. I mean, Rhodey’s guys will probably end up hired as auxiliary but you know, main guy.” He paused, and when nothing but that stare was forthcoming, shifted uneasily on his feet. James didn’t smell mad, no, but ze also didn’t smell particularly of any emotion _at all_ and that was not helping his nerves at all. “I’m good. Got ice cream. Happy uh, chased off a couple overly enthusiastic flirters for me. I mean, I could have handled it but he kind of just jumped in there.”

Tony was unsure if the narrowed eyes that answered him were good or bad, but they were definitely something, and James was certainly _listening_. So, that was good, right? More information maybe?

“So I, you know, talked to him, found out he was looking for a job, and had this pile of resumes on him, so I snagged one to look at, and he’s actually got a pretty good basis for security. He’s new in town too, and-” He halted, squinting up at James as the alpha looked, if anything, more unimpressed. Clearing his throat, Tony plowed forward, racking his mind for all the information he’d accumulated on the new alpha on his way home. “He uh, he can drive, apparently has a really good record. I asked him about that, since, you know, how I am with cars.” Clearing his throat and ignoring the tiniest pinched look that was creeping into the stony countenance in front of him, he hurried to continue, talking a bit faster. “But! Yes! He doesn’t have soulmates either. He’s a markless, so see? While he’s not one of _mine_ , he doesn’t belong to anyone else either, so we don’t need to worry about him suddenly having torn pack loyalties or anything when it comes down to it. He’ll just be ours, easy peasy.”

There was another long moment of stillness, but once it was clear to James that Tony had run out of things to say, those blue eyes lifted and looked past him to something behind him. It was only then that Tony realized that the initial examination had gotten him turned around so he couldn’t actually see the doorway behind him that led deeper into the house. Thus, it followed that once Tony realized this, he turned his head to trace the downright _inquiring_ gaze that James was shooting _someone_ , and nearly groaned in dismay when he realized that Rhodey was standing there, lounging in the doorway and clearly paying attention to everything that Tony had just said.

“Yeah, I think that’ll just about do it. James, you have _got_ to teach me how you just did that. I’ve never gotten him to spill _actual information_ so fast in my life.” Rhodey shook his head, pushing off the doorway and making his way over so he could put a hand on Tony’s head, ruffling up his hair with a little more intensity than strictly required. “He’s never this straightforward with me.”

James turned their gaze back to Tony, who looked somewhat aghast. “Tony does not like silence.” Giving the omega a last squeeze, James finally released their hold, turning their soulmate over to Rhodey for the other alpha to look him over.

“You played me!” Tony’s tone was accusatory, but he could admit, if just to himself, that it had been a rather well-executed maneuver. He didn’t fight being passed over though, willing enough to hug Rhodey when the alpha deemed him fine after a cursory once over.

“We did.”

“And you entirely deserved it, cupcake. It hasn’t even been a month since we nearly lost you and you didn’t even take a phone with you so you could call us in case something happened.” Rhodey moved his hands to Tony’s shoulders and squeezed, giving him a light shake. “You can’t just _do_ that. If you need space, you have to tell us.”

Tony looked from one to the other, then ducked his head, realizing that he’d probably genuinely scared them a little. “Yeah, okay, fine. At least a phone. Does this mean that we’re good?”

“Yeah, we’re good. Seriously though Tony, did you just pick up the first guy you met on the street?”

James snorted, then turned to amble off in the direction Bruce had gone, clearly intending to get a better look at the possible addition to the family.

Tony grimaced, looking up at Rhodey. “Technically, I met him at the boardwalk.”

That Rhodey just groaned and dropped their foreheads together reassured Tony more than anything else that yeah, they really _were_ good.


	28. Beards

Tony was not, nor would he ever be, a beta. 

So far as he was concerned, this was good, because he had never considered himself to have the patience that a beta needed to with their scent issues, and he most certainly never wanted to put up with the difficulties of being an alpha. 

He liked being what he was. 

Unfortunately, the business world wasn’t built for omegas. If anything, his being an omega disadvantaged him in the board room, and definitely caused him issues at events. People assumed things about him, that he was using his sense of smell to suss out their secrets somehow, and that he knew more than he did, or was somehow more convincing than he actually was. Which wasn’t true. At least, it wasn’t true the way people seemed to think it was. Yes, he could scent a person and read them fairly well, but who wanted to tackle that in the middle of a perfume littered ballroom? Alternately, people thinking he was omniscient or magically more convincing... Those things had _jack shit_ to do with being an omega and pretty much everything to do with being _Tony Stark_. 

Still, it wasn’t until he was trying to convince a boardroom full of betas of something with his face clean shaven and the ridiculously soft lines that said omega laid bare that he realized that he did, in fact, have a problem. Those betas, older and well seasoned in business compared to his stance firmly in his mid-twenties, walked into the room planning to not listen, then left unconvinced after not taking him remotely seriously, nor even really _listening_ to what he was saying in the first place.

He’d never been one of those omegas that looked rugged. No, he was pretty, though he thanked everything that he’d never gotten breasts because from what he’d seen the things were an absolutely unpleasant hassle at the best of times and made a suit harder to tailor at the very least. Nice to play with, unpleasant to own, basically. Still, he had the figure and he knew it. Smaller waist and a closer matched shoulder and hip ratio, great for kids, hilarious for trying to pass as anything but the omega he was. Not that he wanted to _be_ anything else, no, but it was frustrating, and he’d been so distracted with his family difficulties for so long that he’d never realized how much Obadiah really _did_ for him on the business side of things.

He suspected without Obadiah steering things in his absence that the business would have suffered horribly, if only because the people making most of the day to day decisions wouldn’t listen to _him_ the way they did to the older beta. 

In any case, this couldn’t go on. Tony knew he didn’t have the presence needed to command their attention, not in a positive way at the very least, and if the baby face was causing issues, then he could at least confuse _that_ while he worked out the rest. Namely, while he took a theater course to see just how one went about capturing an audience and making them pay attention. One would think that that skill would be taught in business classes, but no, clearly that was just not one of those things. Theater class, facial hair, and hopefully he’d have less of these ridiculously prejudiced issues on his plate.

Being an omega did not immediately make him untrustworthy, damn it. Those same old assholes wouldn’t look at their doctor and doubt them because they were an omega, after all. No, they’d trust an omega doctor over any other doctor handed to them. But in a business setting? Nope, all bets were off, and it was enough to make Tony want to kick the old buzzards in the face once he realized how bad it was. Fucking hypocrites. 

However, he had patience, and he would use that patience.

Even if the adventures in facial hair meant he was using his patience at home as he had to grow it _out_ first. Yes, he was on the more masculine end of omegas, and could actually grow facial hair, but apparently, Clint thought the fact he was doing so at all was pretty hilarious the first time he didn’t shave for two days and looked scruffy. 

Uncool. 

Tony had retaliated, of course, and that had led to a rather chaotic mess that involved whipped cream on the ceiling, James standing covered in it in the middle of a room glowering at both of them, and Bruce declaring he was going to head back to Culver now that he’d gotten confirmation for the job he’d been angling for out there. The beta had promptly left the room with a suspicious shaking in his shoulders that fairly screamed repressed laughter. It was ridiculous, of course, but it soothed out the last of the tension in the household, and Clint and Tony sorted themselves out as they had to work together to clean the ceiling.

James had refused to let Tony simply hire a cleaning service to do it, and apparently determined that if ze had to stand there and stare them down while they cleaned, then ze would. Ze ended up helping in the end, when it became clear that neither of the other two had the slightest clue what they were doing, much to the exasperation of the put upon alpha, but it worked out well enough. 

There was, thankfully, no more teasing about the facial hair situation after that, though there was some repressed laughter when his first run at shaving it into some kind of shape just looked... sad. The second attempt fared no better, and it was Happy, of all people, who finally dragged Tony to a barber on the last day before his first class and explained the situation. 

And that was how Tony learned that if he was going to do the facial hair thing, then by god, he needed to do it in _style_. He certainly liked what they did for him better than what he’d done to himself, that was for sure, and he found after a couple days that he rather liked how he looked with facial hair. He hadn’t been sure he would, if he was being honest with himself.

From then on, he didn’t have any major issues keeping up with something in the general vicinity of the look, though yes, he did need help for the rest of that year to make sure he was doing it right.

Upside. James was rather determined to take it upon themself to be that helper.

Of course, there was _one_ other upside.

By the next year, Tony was finally convincing those same stodgy old betas that he knew what the hell he was talking about. 

Victory was sweet.


	29. Science Soul

It was about four months after Bruce had mostly moved out, given that his project at Culver was really starting to get some traction, when the beta called him in what could only be described as a _tizzy_.

Considering that Bruce was the most levelheaded of his soulmates, Tony had to check with JARVIS that yes, the call was, in fact, coming from Culver, though getting the traceback technology in place bad been a little shaky to implement at first. Once it was established that Bruce’s over-excitement wasn’t due to some kind of crisis that would require the pack hopping onto a plane immediately, he turned his attention to settling him down so he could understand what the hell he was on about.

All he’d caught was ‘soulmates’ and that could mean any number of things. Especially given how he’d met some of his own.

“Okay, Bruce. Bruuuuucie. I love you. You know I love you right? But _I have never heard you speak this fast before_. Please stop, take a deep breath, then _try again_. I want to be just as excited as you are, but all I’m getting out of this is that your building might be on fire and you’re excited about it.” Which wasn’t remotely true, but it was enough to make Bruce finally get his head on straight, which was all he was angling for.

There was a deep breath from the other end of the line, then another, before the other scientist seemed to finally get a hold on himself. Tony kind of regretted that the technology hadn’t gotten far enough that he could see his face while all this was going on. He suspected that this wasn’t going to be a situation that ever had a repeat performance. “Right, yes. I had a bit of a shock and of course, you were the person I needed to tell about it. I should have gotten my composure before calling.”

“Orrr, we can say no and let me be excited about how excited about you are. So, now that you’re capable of properly using your words, how about you tell me what has you so worked up? I was joking about the house on fire thing. I’m guessing you met one of the mystery marks?”

There was a startled laugh from Bruce, and his voice was warm in Tony’s ear when he answered. “No. Both of them. I met _both_ of them. They’re here, and they were having lunch together after the wave of new hires for the science department.”

Tony blinked at the phone for a moment, eyebrows arching toward his hairline. He even went so far as setting down what he’d been tinkering with to throw himself on the workshop couch, gesturing grandly at the speaker that he’d been listening to the call through. “Well, in that case, do go on. Are they together or...? Paint me a picture.”

“Well, they’re both rather feminine omegas to start. Scientists, obviously, and they both use she. I was so startled that it took a solid minute of staring at them before they broke out of their conversation far enough to notice what I noticed, and then they were surprised that the _both_ of them noticed it too instead of me just becoming aware of one of them. Of course, then Betty, she’s the black cat by the way, invited me to sit with them and we talked. They’re amazing Tony, absolutely perfect.”

“I can’t say I’m not entertained right now Bruce, because don’t you just have three of us? That means that your soulmate is science. We’re all scientists here. But that wasn’t a picture Brucie, that was a vague watery outline. Tell me about them, and how about full names? Full names would be _incredibly helpful_ at about this point.” Tony slid sideways, throwing his feet up on the arm of the couch with one arm dangling off the side.

“Bossy.” Bruce’s tone was utterly fond, however, indulgent, and he was clearly warming up to his topic. Not that he hadn’t been excited already, but he apparently had used that great big beautiful mind of his to observe the two for exactly this reason. After all, he didn’t hesitate. “You’ve heard of the older of the two, actually, since her field has to do with space, and I know you’ve been looking into the sciences pertaining to that recently. She was the main cowriter on Dr. Selvig’s last two papers for the Astrophysics field.” 

Tony immediately sat up, startled and more than a little pleased for Bruce. “She must have only just come into her doctorate. You know, since when I checked Selvig was the only one of that lot who was fully certified. Is she as brilliant as the papers imply or is she a little batty? It’s okay if she’s batty Bruce, I swear, I mean, you have me, you can’t get battier than me.”

The words got Bruce to laugh, and Tony immediately grinned in turn, but let him talk. “No, she’s not batty. She’s very very focused. You know the type, but it’s nice. Zero interest in a romantic relationship right now, of course, but she was plenty pleased to meet me. She’s really nice, and we’ve already arranged to meet up and bounce ideas off each other over lunch every now and then once she’s fully settled into the University.”

Letting himself settle back down to the cushions, Tony got comfortable again, making a promise to himself that he’d go visit Bruce and his new soulmates soon. If only so that he could meet a pioneer in a mocked field face to face. He could respect that. “And the other one? I have the orange acute angle’s number, now give me black cat’s.”

“Well, to start, she’s probably the most beautiful omega I’ve ever seen.”

“Hey!”

Bruce continued like he hadn’t spoken, though there was a touch more amusement to his next words to show he hadn’t ignored Tony. “She’s sweet, and smart. She’s in my field and absolutely brilliant. There’s really no comparison honestly.”

“Okay, now you’re starting to hurt my feelings Brucie.” Tony tried to pout, but he couldn’t help the little grin on his face. It sounded like Bruce had finally located a romantic interest to him.

Still, his beta was kind enough to yield in the face of the complaint. “There’s no comparison because you’re very different people Tony. You’re beautiful and brilliant in different ways, I promise.” There was a beat of pause. “We’re going to be on a major project together, actually. It’s part of why she was hired in the first place.”

“Sounds to me like your decision to go for that position has really worked out for you.” Tony sobered, peering up at the ceiling. “I’m sorry I tried to convince you not to go. You wouldn’t have met the newbies if you hadn’t gone.”

“I might have. I forgive you though. You just wanted my company, and I wasn’t about to begrudge you that. I like you too you know.”

“Well, we _are_ soulmates, and I wouldn’t want to have it any other way.” Chewing on his lower lip, Tony heaved a rather put-upon sigh. “I miss having someone who speaks science in the house, Bruce. You spoiled me.”

“I’m guessing Jim is stationed somewhere out of contact again?”

“He is, and it’s awful. James tries, and he’s obviously interested, but I have to teach him everything from the bottom. Anytime I get going I lose him because he doesn’t know any of the terminology. It’s depressing.”

“I _was_ attempting to help with that.”

“I know, and I thank you for your service!” Tony’s lips ticked up. “See you soon, okay?”

“As soon as your plane lands, I’m sure.”

Tony narrowed his eyes at the implication. “I am not that predictable.”

“Right Tony, not at all.”

“I’m not!”

“We’re not having this argument again Tony.”

“You’re doing that thing where you use my name in every sentence again. Not cool.”

“I have no idea what you mean, Tony.”

“You know what? I think I’m done. I’m going to have myself a nice lunch and you won’t get any of it because you’re halfway across the country.”

“Whatever you say, Tony.” Bruce was definitely laughing on his end of the line too, the jerk. 

“I really really mean it!”

“Enjoy your lunch, Tony. I’ll call you again soon, okay?”

Tony deflated at the genuine affection in Bruce’s tone, and let out a sigh. “Cheater. See you soon. Tell your new soulmates hi for me.”

“Of course. Goodbye Tony.”

There was no pause to let Tony answer between the salutation and Bruce hanging up, to Tony’s consternation. Then again, they both knew that if Tony had his way that the omega would drag out the phone call for another hour. He’d done it before. 

Still, Tony huffed at the connection being cut off, sitting up so he could get to his feet. He was sure that _Clint and James_ would appreciate a nice lunch at least.

“Bye to you too. Meanie.”


	30. Firebrand

Tony was at work. 

See, in general, this wasn’t unusual, per se, but that was only because, typically, he didn’t want to deal with the various PAs he’d gone through in the last few years any more than he had to. Sixteen in four years. They never stuck around more than a few months, and one, in particular, had only managed three days.

That one had met James and promptly quit. Apparently _that_ one had assumed that Tony had done something horrifying to his soulmate and refused to believe a word to the contrary. Tony would be lying if he said that it hadn’t hurt his feelings, but he’d been especially distant with the next one to make up the difference, and that alpha had lasted almost five months. Of course, then she’d walked in on Clint testing some gear for him and that had just gone to hell. Apparently, Tony’s antics had already been riding the line of stress, and that was when he’d been particularly well behaved.

He’d more or less stopped trying to be anything he wasn’t then, figuring if they couldn’t deal with his soulmates then they could just screw themselves. Of course, this meant that when Clint was off duty for Aunt Peggy, an occurrence that was becoming increasingly less and less to Tony’s displeasure, he was often stuck being a stand in errand runner. James, in turn, had become exceptionally brilliant at coffee, and while ze could keep an amazing schedule, Tony wasn’t so sure how he felt about being bodily bundled into clothes and shoved into Happy’s arms to be taken wherever it was he was supposed to be. 

Happy had settled in brilliantly at least, gently refusing to move in, though he spent enough time around the pack that he might as well have. Tony was just bewildered by the fact that this was an alpha that wanted to live by himself if he was being truthful. He’d never seen the like.

None of that, however, was why he had come to work. No, today had been a test of the teleconferencing technology and an important meeting both. It had been a little sketchy, and Tony could see the room for improvement, but he’d done what he needed to do, and all parties had agreed that Tony would be making the trip overseas sooner rather than later for a meeting in person to sign documents. He wasn’t exactly _thrilled_ about it, but he knew how to put on a show, and he knew how to be convincing. 

He just hoped that it didn’t kill his momentum on his current project like last time he’d had to go overseas to deal with locals in the name of business.

Thus was what Tony’s mind was on as he moved through the hallways in his building, and he could safely say that the last thing he’d expected was a furious dervish to block his path, pale eyes radiant with indignant fury. That the fury was radiating a sense of home was both awesome and a little terrifying because the beta before him looked _anything_ but happy to see him at the moment.

A quick check said that he didn’t recognize this person in the least, and he cleared his throat, trying to find words, a greeting, anything, but when nothing came, the beta took this as an invitation, drawing themselves up and making Tony realize he was being towered over. The heels, it had to be the heels. He knew the thought was a little inane, but the more he stared, the more he realized that this person was _gorgeous_.

“Mr. Stark.” There was very little trace of the visible agitation in the beta’s voice, and that was impressive because even as he stood there, the scent was brought sharply under control. How did betas _do_ that? “You and I have to have a talk. Right now. I’ve had my attempts to make an appointment with you dodged or blocked no less than six times and it’s pretty ridiculous. I found out something you need to know and I do not appreciate having my time wasted.”

Tony cleared his throat, wondering if they had just... not noticed? They were a beta, and if anyone would ignore the scent of a soulmate, it was definitely a beta. “Okay, well, here I am. What do you need to tell me?” He blinked, glancing around his new soulmate, then back again. “And why is my security coming tearing down the hall like you’re about to blow up the building?”

When they looked over their shoulder, Tony got a whiff of some soft scent, and he had to resist the urge to reach out and play with the long hair that was suddenly right in front of him. He was acting like a total idiot, and he knew it. Dear lord, he hoped to god this wasn’t how Hammer felt after they met. He might actually owe the fucker an apology. Of course, then the pale blue eyes were back on him, and that thought was put right out of his head. “That would be because I was fired this morning for putting up a fuss and they’re attempting to escort me out of the building.”

Tony’s eyebrows went for his hairline, and he held up his hand toward the nearing security, and ah, there was Happy, good bodyguard he was, convening to find out what was going on. They stopped, but nobody looked thrilled about it. He looked back to the cause of the ruckus, and wow he needed a name at least. “And you would be... who exactly? Aside from amazingly determined.” 

The compliment got an arch of finely manicured eyebrows, and then a small, fleeting smile crossed their face. “Ms. Virginia Potts, formerly of the accounting division.”

“What a mouthful that name is Ms. Potts. So tell me, what is it that caused all this and got you fired?” And brought her to him. He could both thank and deal with the problem at the same time once he found out who they were, definitely.

“One of the supervisors in my department is embezzling, and attempting to go over their head has only resulted in me having warnings put on my record. I’m frankly not sure that those people aren’t in on it, and I figured if they wouldn’t listen, I should go straight to you.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re not going to just ignore me too, are you?”

Tony shook his head at once, reaching to very lightly touch the place over his heart where the linked rings were under his shirt. She didn’t look older than him, so maybe... “No, never ever. What do you say to a promotion? In fact, how would you like to come home with me?” When she started to look indignant at the possible implications, Tony cleared his throat. “Deep breath. Please?”

She looked suspicious but actually scented the air as he requested. Her eyes went immediately wide, and one hand lifted to point at him like she didn’t particularly believe she was reading it right. “You?”

“Me. Problem?”

She studied him for a moment, clearly giving it consideration. Finally, she shook her head, letting her hand drop back to her side. “No. Are you going to deal with the embezzler?”

“Yep. Or you can, if you want. I find myself lacking a PA again, and you seem to suddenly be out of a job.”

“And that won’t be considered unprofessional, hiring a soulmate?”

Tony immediately shook his head, gesturing to the security behind her. “Nope. You went to all this trouble to take care of my interests, right? I think that’s plenty of recommendation of your suitability all by itself.”

“And the offer to go home with you?”

Tony shifted on his feet. “I want you to meet the soulmates who are home. I kind of have a lot.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, lifting her chin slightly. “You’re not expecting anything else, are you?”

“Nope. Ms. Potts, you are not being propositioned, no matter how tempting such a thing might be right now.”

There was a long beat of silence, and then she nodded crisply, spinning on her heel to head through the lingering security. “I’ll meet you at the garage, Mr. Stark.”

Tony stared after her, feeling a little dazed. “Right behind you, Ms. Potts.”

When Tony didn’t move even as she rounded a corner out of sight, Happy came to stand beside him. “That’s a soulmate of yours then, Mr. Stark?”

Tony finally broke his gaze off the spot where she’d vanished and looked at his bodyguard, a sheepish smile coming to his face. “Yep. Did I come off like an idiot?”

“You hid it pretty well, sir. You might want to follow before she gets impatient. She seems the type.”

“Nah, she’s not a spitfire. You don’t do six attempts if you don’t have patience. She’s more like pepper, laying in wait to get you when you’re not expecting it.”

“Pepper, really? You need to work on your analogies boss.”

Tony flashed him a grin, then started off down the hall, his security finally dispersing how that the conflict appeared to be resolved. “Oh, I don’t know, I think it works pretty well.”

“I’m not going to protect you if she doesn’t like it.”

The answer got a laugh, and he tossed a wave over his shoulder before he circled out of sight. “I figured!”

Still, Tony didn’t much want to keep her waiting. 

No need to tempt fate.


	31. Intimacies

Tony was giddy all the way home. It was, if he was being honest, kind of embarrassing how quickly he’d found himself enamored over his new beta. Admittedly, it wasn’t exactly the first time he’d reacted like this, but the circumstances this time were about a hundred percent less terrifying, so he could be excused for having his moment. 

Of course, then he was home, and he realized all at once that while yes, usually he would have a roster of soulmates around to introduce his new Ms. Potts to, today he only had two. Eventually, she’d meet Hammer, that was a given if she was to be his PA, but the rest were all scattered with their own pursuits. Realizing that reminded him all at once why he’d been at work in the first place. One soulmate at home to force him out the door for work related things, and one _as_ his home to help. AKA, he’d been kicked out of his house a few hours ago, and now he was back, with a new soulmate in tow.

He actually didn’t expect it to go poorly, but he’d been known to be wrong. Not often, almost never in fact, but it did happen from time to time, under extenuating circumstances. 

He just hadn’t thought this was one. Initial contact certainly hadn’t made it seem like the case, as James, while more quiet than even their normal, had given the beta a curt, but unsuspicious, nod. Nothing weird about that. Then they’d stuck incredibly close, which was also not weird. In fact, practically nothing that they’d done at all had been weird, as Tony had answered his new soulmate’s questions, showed her around his home, and introduced her to both James and JARVIS, who she was gratifyingly impressed by. In all, he should have been thrilled by how well everything had gone by the time Pepper, a nickname offered by Happy, took her leave. 

But he wasn’t.

James had progressed past the point of silently staring down new people in the household over a year ago. Ze didn’t much _do_ that anymore unless well and truly displeased by something. Ze was quiet, yes, but this wasn’t that. This was almost _brooding_. It was weird, and the timing put Tony on the wrong foot entirely. He figured he could be excused for rounding on his live-in alpha the moment they were alone. He wasn’t angry, no, but _answers were needed here_.

“What the flying fuck was that James? Do you not like her?” It was the only thing Tony could think of, honestly. Instant dislike wasn’t an impossible option between soulmates of a soulmate, but that didn’t make it any more of an ideal situation. 

The questions were clearly a surprise if the way the alpha’s eyes widened was any indication. What? Had ze thought ze was being subtle? Definitely not. Still, Tony felt his eyebrows creeping toward his hairline when he realized that the reaction following that flare of surprise appeared to be _embarrassment_. A slight duck of the head, flesh and blood fingers raking through long hair, eyes cutting to the side... That was classic embarrassment alright. It wasn’t words either. 

“Okay, so if you like her fine then what was all that? I wasn’t expecting you to talk up a storm or anything, but you managed to not say a single word to her the whole time she was here. She’s going to think you can’t talk or something. Were you going full on broody on purpose or...? Care to fill me in here?”

If anything, that seemed to intensify the alpha’s apparent mortification, which was fascinating, if not utterly bewildering. He honestly hadn’t thought James still even felt those things, so this was a special sort of surprise. Good, but again, weird. “I’m glad you found another one of your soulmates.” The words were soft, and Tony felt something unclench in his chest at the affirmation that _that_ wasn’t somehow the issue. “I just didn’t expect you to bring one home _today_.”

Tony blinked, then squinted, genuinely baffled what the day had to do with pretty much anything. Nothing special sprang to mind, and when a glance toward a camera elicited no comment on something he’d forgotten from JARVIS, he looked back to James, bewildered. “If I forgot something then you need to speak up sweetheart because I have no idea what it is and I’m not the only one out of the loop.”

That the immediate reaction was a clearing of the throat and an honest to god _blush_ was beyond fascinating, and Tony genuinely wished that he had a clue what was going on now. It had to be huge to make his assassin fluster. “There’s nothin’ on the schedule. I just wanted to talk to you when you got home. About something personal. I wasn’t ready for company.”

The words made his eyebrows wing toward his hairline, and he glanced toward the front of the house, then back to James again. “So all that was because you were flustered? Seriously? What could possibly have had you so off balance that you went all mute on me?”

“Well, uh, you’re going to have your next heat in a couple days.” Tony had no idea what this had to do with the price of apples in Atlantis, and he was sure his expression said as much if the way James’ shoulders twitched up in a not exactly shrug was any indication. “I wanted to talk about it, but then you brought her around and I wasn’t about to say anything in front of someone new.”

There was a long beat of silence, then Tony released a long sigh, hooking his arm through James’ and towing their unresisting form along to the living room. He was not going to discuss his cycle in the damn hallway. That just felt awkward, and they already had more than enough of that going on for his taste, thank you very much. “Okay, so, just to clarify, you _are_ good with Pepper right? This isn’t going to be a problem?” The immediate head shake soothed his lingering anxieties, and he planted himself on the couch, releasing James. That the alpha actually _paced_ a little on being released made him feel the first sparks of concern over the intended topic. “Okay, so, my heat. What about it? What’s got you all worked up? There isn’t some ongoing issue you haven’t told me about is there?”

The question froze James, and ze immediately brought their full attention back to Tony, sitting across from him even as ze shook their head. “No. You know I’ve kept... away.”

“Because of how unstable you were when you got here, yeah. That would have been messy and unpleasant for everyone. Is this about that? It’s not still a problem is it?” James didn’t evade when Tony reached to take their hands, which he took as a good sign. Ze even shook their head to confirm that wasn’t the issue. “Okay good, so what’s up?”

James took a deep breath, then let it out in a rush, that flush coming back to their face all at once. “I want to help.”

Tony was so distracted staring at that strangely soft expression of _shyness_ that it took a minute for him to register what ze actually _meant_. “Wait, really? You think you’re actually up for that? With the whole rut issue, I’ve been trying to keep well away from you with that, just in case.”

There was a huff, something in the general direction of a laugh, though the glance shot through their hair at Tony was grateful. “It was noticed.” Ze looked away, down at where Tony was holding their hands, the embarrassment finally seeming to seep away. “I want to help. I used to be really good at it, before. May I try?”

The way James almost seemed to be expecting a negative answer pricked at Tony’s heart a little, and he gave a gentle tug on their hands until those blue eyes lifted to meet his gaze. Better. “Of course you can help. I’m sure Rhodey’ll be relieved to not listen to my whining this time. I am not graceful about how uncomfortable I am at all and I fully expect my every whim to be catered to. You should ask Bruce, he tried to help on the last one and he practically fled back to Culver when it broke.”

James actually _wrinkled up their nose_. Today was filled with surprise expressions apparently. “They go faster with an alpha’s help.”

Tony rolled his eyes at the words. “I know the science of it James. The right overlapping hormones speed the process, and sex makes it go about three times as fast, for me anyway. Of course, we’re not talking about sex here, because I am _so_ not prepared to risk a baby right now, but you _definitely_ have leave to cuddle me and make me feel better with your alpha hormones.”

The fact that that seemed to actually _offend_ James almost made Tony laugh. Almost. “Helping doesn’t require _sex_. I would never have been popular with the omegas back before if it did. Nobody wanted some alpha who went around knocking up every chassy he touched.”

Squeezing the flesh and blood hand he still had a hold on, Tony was quick to settle James down, though he couldn’t help his amused smile. “Okay, okay. Your reputation as a courteous alpha is intact, I promise you. I trust you to know what you’re doing and not cross any lines, deal? Just remember. I’m going to fuss, a lot.”

“Tony, I dealt with _Steve_. You’re gonna be fine.”

It always fascinated Tony when James started to slip away from more structured English to Brooklyn, even a little, but he didn’t bring it to their attention. They were on a totally different topic than that right now anyway. “Right. I always forget that was a thing. So. Everything’s good? Next time Pepper’s over you’re actually going to speak to her using words?”

“Well, I kind of have to. I’m the one who has your schedule right now.”

Snorting softly, Tony released James’ hands and settled back on the couch. “Okay, true, but JARVIS could do that if you really didn’t want to.”

“Yeah, but JARVIS is tactful. I’ll take care of it.”

“Why am I suddenly worried?”

“No idea.” 

“None?”

“Not one.”

“Yeah, sure, because you’re all innocence and sunbeams.”

The sideways look that earned Tony got a grin in turn, but it was more than enough.

The air was clear, and the day was back to being excellent.

That was more than enough for Tony.


	32. Overheated

Tony had never been the kind of omega that put up with being more uncomfortable than strictly required during his heats. He knew a few who weren’t like that, who would rather stay fully dressed and suffer all by themselves, but he’d never understood it. 

No, he was more practical than that, and he did as he pleased, when he pleased. He’d had sex on his heats before, which had mostly been him hooking up with other omegas for some mutual feel good riding it out, and that had always been a viable option if only because it meant that at the very least he wasn’t focusing on being miserable. Rhodey had sat in more than once, though the first time he’d done it had been particularly hilarious when he realized Tony fully intended to go bare-assed the whole time. In fact, he’d even spent a heat with an alpha he’d had sex with, though that particular one had been a pretty intense submissive and hadn’t once tried to reverse the situation so that Tony was the one getting fucked. 

Admittedly, Tony didn’t prefer that one at all, as while it had been interesting and fun, it had also been incredibly frustrating and he wouldn’t be doing it again. 

So, all that experience should have had him prepared for this heat. Easy peasy, bringing a new person into his little bubble of confidence and trust for heats. He’d done it with a near stranger before, so a soulmate shouldn’t have been an issue. And, really, it shouldn’t have been. He wasn’t nervous about Rhodey, or Bruce, or even _Clint_ the one time the beta had taken a run at him. But no, today he was nervous, and he found himself circling his room with restless energy as he felt the namesake heat start to itch under his skin with the absolute restless ridiculousness that was biology.

It didn’t help that he could hear James in the other room on the phone with Rhodey, slowly growing notably impatient as ze reassured the other alpha for what had to be the tenth time that they were fine, and would keep being fine, and ze was totally sure that they would reach out if there was a problem. The tones were enough to make Tony fidget, honestly, with his hormones starting to go nuts, and he smoothed blankets and pillows that he was going to sleep _on_ , not under, thank you very much. JARVIS knew the temperatures he liked and he wasn’t going to put up with the weird hot and cold bullshit he’d had to deal with in his college dorm room. 

But, now he had a system. He’d aggressively cuddle whoever was putting up with his attention this heat, and dig into his toys when they wandered off to do things like getting food, showering, or whatever else his companion needed to do. Everyone was happy. Bonus props that flinging himself on top of an alpha made the heats be a little less aggressive so thinking wasn’t as much of a problem too. Usually, if he dragged an alpha into it he could still work a bit even, which was a serious relief. 

He hated when he was too miserable to work, since it tended to make him incredibly _bitchy_ on top of everything else. 

So maybe he had cause to be nervous, and not because this particular alpha of his he’d been incredibly careful to avoid the fuck out of sexy thoughts about before now. Though that didn’t mean he hadn’t _had _any. He’d noticed things, of course he’d noticed things, because James was absolutely gorgeous, but he’d avoided _thinking_ about it. Sharing a heat with someone was pretty much guaranteeing that thinking about it was going to happen. __

__Also, it was at this point that Tony realized that the talking from the other room had stopped, and he slowly looked up, only to see James leaning in the doorway, watching him fuss at his bedding like he’d never done this before. At least ze was smiling. Smiling was a good indicator that ze found it cute, not exasperating, and Tony just hopped onto the bed, considering flinging his face into it to smother himself in mortification. Somehow, he knew that would just heighten the sensation, so he pushed it aside and met James’ amused gaze instead._ _

__“Good call?”_ _

__The slightly husky tone in his voice must have gotten their attention, because one brow winged up into their hair before ze answered. “Good enough. He’s worried.” One shoulder, bare, which Tony hadn’t immediately noticed somehow, was lifted in a shrug. “I would be too in his position, but this isn’t the first time I’ve done this.”_ _

__Tony licked his lips, then finally gave in to the urge and held out his hands, wiggling his fingers at them. “Me neither. So, pretty sure you saw I say fuck clothes when this is on. And you don’t have a shirt. I approve of this choice. Going to come here?”_ _

__A soft snort was his answer, but he was also rewarded as his oldest alpha practically prowled over, which made every instinct in Tony’s head ridiculously giddy all at once. And wow that was new and deeply appreciated. It left Tony with his head tipped back to stare up at them when James halted by the side of the bed, just outside of arm’s reach. “May I?”_ _

__There was something almost ritualistic about it, but Tony couldn’t find it in himself to mind. It was a different, but strange, sort of pleasantly respectful he wasn’t used to. “I already invited you in.”_ _

__“Yeah, you did.” James leaned over, but made no move to touch him, voice dipping down to something closer to a growl, which zinged all the way down Tony’s spine. Jesus, that voice was a weapon. “So. May I?”_ _

__“Yeah, yes. Very yes.” Tony found himself nodding rapidly this time, and his fixed staring meant that he didn’t miss the slow, pleased smile that he got in turn before James finally slid onto the bed, one hand pressing onto Tony’s chest to gently, but insistently, put him on his back among the covers._ _

__“Then I am honored to accept your invitation.” Ze hadn’t lifted their voice from that low rumble, and Tony had to wonder if he was going to be able to think at all during this heat if ze was going to approach it this way the _whole time_._ _

__Still, as James settled on top of him with the most predatory cuddle entry he’d _ever_ seen, Tony couldn’t find it in himself to mind._ _

__This was going to be _fantastic_._ _


	33. Good Morning

The next week was a fascinating mix of incredible sweetness and overwhelming predatory gestures, and Tony couldn’t remotely find it in himself to regret a thing. 

When he got fussy and whiny because he was hot and uncomfortable, James cuddled him against their chest and _hand fed_ him fruit. When he laid there pathetically because whining was too much energy, James settled in to pet his hair and back. When someone, usually Pepper, which was a surprise because she was so new to the household and didn’t even _live_ there yet, came to check on them, James deftly handled it with a courteous sort of possessiveness. It left him clearheaded to play with his tablet about half the time, let him sleep better than he could recall ever sleeping during one of his heats, and in general he just felt oddly _good_ when it finally tapered off and he no longer felt like a burning coal who was way too horny.

If he were perfectly honest with himself, it was enough to tempt him to invite James to make it sexual next time if they wanted. There was zero doubt in his mind that the risk of an accident with a condom was worth every second of that kind of attention. Still, he didn’t bring it up, not just then. Maybe in the future. Maybe _after they’d discussed being sexual at all_. No need to put the cart before the horse and watch everything turn into a mess because of it. 

Sadly, he wouldn’t really be able to put that off forever, despite how difficult it would be to start that conversation. On his part, not James’ that is. Not even because the change was an unwelcome one either. No, it was because he’d spent the better part of the last few years trying to teach himself to not think naughty thoughts about his assassin. Trying being the operative word, clearly, which was both good and bad. 

Deciding that either way, now was _so_ not the time to think about it, because yes, fruit and light things were all he’d felt like he could stomach for a week, but he was starving _now_ and his stomach really needed to get priority over fretting about possible changes in one of his relationships. He had another two months to sort it out before his next heat anyway and that was just a fact.

This in mind, he went and threw himself into the shower, thrilled to be able to spend less than an hour wallowing in the water to come away feeling clean for the first time in days, and hurried to get dressed immediately after. Bathing hadn’t gotten him to food any faster, no, but it _had_ made him feel more human, so that was important. Of course, human didn’t translate to ‘wait until he had all his clothes on before leaving his room,’ and he made a beeline toward the kitchen with a shirt in one hand and the button of his jeans in the other. It wasn’t like his bare skin was new around here anyway and _food_.

Which is about how it came down that Pepper, who he had not expected to be seeing yet today, if at all, saw her mark for the first time. 

Yes, they’d seen each other quite a bit before his heat, but no, that hadn’t been in any kind of setting that encouraged one to strip. Not even a little. The law department was _not_ where he wanted to be seen taking his clothes off in front of _anyone_ and he knew it damn well. He’d gotten the lecture before. Twice.

He still doesn’t think that the second time was his fault.

In any case, the point was that Tony in his half-dressed state drew the eyes of those in the kitchen, namely James and Pepper, and it was Pepper’s gaze that interested him more at the moment, given she’d zeroed in on the circles over his heart and was doing her best to burn them into her memory as far as he could tell. Which was both kind of adorable and kind of flattering at once. Adorable, because it wasn’t like she’d never see the mark again, he knew himself, and flattering because she was interested.

Still, he could see the way James was smirking over Tony having immediately preened under the attention, and that was enough to get the omega to yank his shirt on. It was also enough to make him really take in the other two and realize that while James was in a James typical, Pepper was decidedly not in business attire, and even her hair, up in a ponytail, seemed to scream ‘day off.’ It actually made him briefly question why she was there, but that thought was ridiculous. She was one of his soulmates. If she wanted to be there, then _she could be there._

Giving himself a shake, and realizing that neither of the other two had bothered to _say_ anything to him yet, he made his way over to join Pepper at the counter. “Good morning. James, please tell me that you’re cooking a huge, ridiculously calorie laden breakfast over there. I smell bacon, but I don’t want to assume in case I’m hallucinating.”

Pepper blinked, then immediately pulled her newspaper up to hide what could only be a smile. James glanced over their shoulder before shaking their head. “Of course I am. We have blueberries and raspberries if you want fruit in your pancakes, chocolate or peanut butter chips if you don’t.” 

Tony was a little surprised by the offerings, given he knew how fond James was of strawberries. “Berries are good. But what, no good strawberries this season?”

Pepper cleared her throat, smoothing her paper down on the counter and collecting her coffee cup. Tony recognized that cup, it was one Clint had brought home a few months previous for him. The joke on the side of it was gloriously direct. ‘Does a radioactive cat have 18 half-lives?’ It was one of Tony’s current favorites, actually. Still, Pepper had cleared her throat for a reason, and Tony made himself look her in the face instead of staring at where her hands were cradling the cup. Only then did she speak. “No strawberries because of me. I have an allergy and I mentioned it when I saw them this morning.”

James nodded when Tony glanced back to them, having just come over to set Tony’s dark blue mug in front of him. It had a whole bunch of stars in a realistic pattern all over it, another favorite. “I didn’t want to risk a reaction in case there was cross contamination. She made it clear it was a rather severe issue.”

“Ze was very sweet about the whole thing.” Pepper gave James a rather pleased smile, then looked back to Tony. “Are you going to be ready to get back to work properly tomorrow?”

Tony had just taken a sip of his coffee at the question, and froze, peeking over the edge of the cup cautiously. Seeing that she didn’t seem to be about to chide him if the answer was no, he relaxed. Not that the answer _would_ be no, but not everyone had patience for omega heats, no matter how severe they could get. “Yeah, I’m good for that. And, not that I don’t welcome you in my kitchen and all, but why are you here? You don’t look like you’re here on PA business.”

She snorted softly, shaking her head. “That’s because I’m not. We discussed the possibility of my moving in at least part time after we had my employment contracts settled, and I’ve spent the time while you’ve been busy getting your schedule sorted out and determining my own state of affairs. I decided it was more practical if I had a room set up here and kept my private residence as a fall back in case I needed space from the rest of you, rather than using it as my primary residence.”

Tony was _almost_ distracted by the plates that James had brought over after she said that, but food could wait just a minute more. “So wait, does that mean you’ve moved in? I thought you didn’t want to...?”

“I said it wouldn’t be professional. I never said no.” Picking up her fork, she used it to point at Tony’s plate. “Now eat. James and I were waiting on you.”

Tony jerked his gaze to James, who was coming back with their own plate, setting it on the other side of Tony. “I just needed to see what kind of mood you were in, sweet or tart, before I finished off the pancakes.”

“Oh. Thanks.” Unable to help the warm and bubbly feelings welling up in him, Tony turned his gaze to his plate and started in on it. Everything on it was perfect, exactly how he liked it, and he knew he had a ridiculous smile on his face as he took his first bite, but he couldn’t help it.

It was a beautiful morning.


	34. Bad Business

Tony was not impressed. In fact, Tony was so far from impressed he’d skipped right over unimpressed into ‘vaguely ticked off’ territory. The reason for this was currently trailing him out of the meeting he’d flown halfway around the world to attend. In fact, the only reason he hadn’t dropped the negotiations entirely was because Pepper had come with him, and was now currently hanging back in the wake of the meeting to sort out the final paperwork that Tony would need to look over. 

It had been, honestly stated, a disaster. If the company hadn’t needed this backer for a few specific other contracts they would pull in, he was pretty sure even Pepper’s presence wouldn’t have been enough to keep him from walking out after Hammer sat down at the negotiation table. That didn’t mean the little bout of fuckery didn’t _sting_ , and when he heard his name called by that very same person _now_ made him count backward from ten. Because seriously, springing that the contract meant having to collaborate in _any way_ with Hammertech, even if they were handling entirely different aspects of the project, was beyond not cool. That sort of thing should have been mentioned in preliminary negotiations at the very least, not final ones.

He was, frankly, tempted to call Pepper off and reject it anyway for how this had been handled, but he knew it wouldn’t be a sound business decision. Worse, this just highlighted the areas that the company needed to cover so this never _ever_ happened again. And, of course, he had to deal with the insistent verbal prodding from the beta trailing after him, giving him a ridiculously hopeful expression all the while.

Letting his breath out in what could only be called a sigh, he finally deigned to show he noticed the other business tycoon, coming to a halt. “ _What_ , Hammer? I did hear you the first time, and right now I’m kind of ticked off, so it’s really not the right moment to make nice.”

The words seemed to completely roll off him, which Tony would find impressive if it wasn’t annoying. “I had noticed that. This can be an opportunity, Tony, I promise you. Our companies don’t have to be at odds.”

Tony couldn’t help the snort that left him at that, and he raised his eyebrows high. “Yeah, they kind of do. Your company has a shit reputation when it comes to safety standards and reliability and we both know it.”

There was a pause in answer to _that_ , and the beta lifted his shoulder with an awkward smile that looked more like a grimace. “We have been working on that.”

“And yet a month still doesn’t go by without some kind of report about how once again something related to your company went to shit. You’ve been getting ahead in business because you’re less expensive than Stark-tech and cover different areas, Hammer, not because you put out better products. So that, in there? That’s an _insult_. I really don’t like being insulted.”

“You really can call me Justin, you know. I don’t mind. In fact, I’m sure I’ve told you this before.” The cheerful tone of the words, not to mention that he’d ignored most of what he’d just said, had Tony throwing his hands in the air, already starting back down the hall. And of course, the beta was keeping pace. Where was Pepper? He could use an intervention right about now. 

Right, still intervening from him bailing on the meeting before everything was finalized. Damn it. “I know. I’m not interested. We really don’t have that kind of relationship.”

“We could.” 

Tony narrowed his eyes in reaction to the hopeful note in the words. “We won’t.”

“But we _could_.”

Tony drew to a halt yet again, fed up and aware that Hammer was looking for _something_ from this conversation. He was also aware that that something wasn’t just Tony calling him by his first name. “What. No, really. What is it you’re after right this second because it sounds to me like you’re asking for something I’m _really_ unlikely to give you.”

The silence that followed drew out, the beta not making eye contact even as Tony bored a hole in his temple with his gaze. Finally, he caved, peeking sideways at Tony, then away again. “You’re aware of the gifts I’ve been sending you.”

“Kind of hard to miss them. You have horrible taste.”

“...I’ve been told as much. But you got them. You’ve even worn a couple of them.”

“Yes, and? That doesn’t obligate me to anything, and if you’re about to imply otherwise I’ll punch you in the head, professional setting or not.”

Looking slightly alarmed in reaction to Tony’s guarded words, the beta brought his hands up in a warding gesture. “No need for that. I just...” He waved his hands in the air when Tony’s eyes narrowed. “You _do_ accept the presents. And I’ve stopped being unprofessional about our companies competing! I just thought maybe next time there’s an event, we could actually attend together. That’s it.”

“Really.” Tony arched his eyebrows, staring him down. “That’s really it, huh? Nothing else floating around in that head of yours Hammer?”

“No, well. Other than the name thing at least?” 

Tony snorted softly, turning away from him as Pepper hurried to catch up to them. “I’ll think about it.”

He was sure that Hammer would have said more, but Pepper was on a mission, and when Pepper was on a mission you did _not_ interrupt. Though Hammer definitely _tried_. He couldn’t get more than the first part of a syllable out before she talked right over him, facing Tony and standing between the two. “There you are! I have the paperwork, and I’ve already gotten access to a room for us to go over it in in case there’s anything you want to change before we leave, as well as having a secondary copy for a final once over by the lawyers.”

Blinking at the onslaught of information, Tony allowed his gears to be shifted fully to business and nodded to show he got all that. “Right, you lead the way then.”

The interrupted beta clearly wanted to try to get some kind of last comment in. It didn’t go well for him. “And I can’t convince you to-”

Tony glanced over his shoulder, Pepper already having turned him around to start steering him down the hall, because it wasn’t like Hammer to stop talking for anything short of an apocalypse once he got a bad idea into his head. But, there it was, Hammer looking honestly a bit frightened and Pepper leveling the sternest look Tony had probably _ever_ seen on the other beta.

He turned forward quickly, picking up his steps. He _so_ didn’t want to get that look leveled at him, not at the moment at least.

He didn’t hold out any hope that he never would.


	35. Fair Chance

It was late by the time Tony got home, and while he heard that the television on in the living room, plainly indicating that one of the soulmates who hadn’t accompanied him to the gala were home, he was so far from being in a mood to talk to anyone that he didn’t even check who it was. Instead, he ended up stalking right by, headed for his workshop instead of the bedroom as he pulled at his bow tie, undoing it as he made a beeline down the stairs.

That didn’t mean he’d gone deaf, however, and the ‘woah’ that drifted after him clearly enough identified the TV watcher as Clint before he was out of hearing range. It meant that when he dumped both his jacket and tie on one of his worktables, he wasn’t surprised that the spy had followed him down and was lingering in the doorway.

“So, I’m guessing that the night didn’t go all that well?” Tony cast a sideways look at the blond, almost aggressively taking off the overshirt he had on and throwing it down on the pile. “So, I’m guessing that that expression means ‘no shit’, and since I don’t see Pepper, Happy, or even James around yet, I’m guessing you bailed on everyone? Care to tell me what happened? I only got home after you left but JARVIS told me you were taking a test run.”

“I was.” Looking down at himself, Tony decided that was enough clothes off to comfortably work, and practically stalked over to the car he’d most recently been tinkering with. It was a good day to get at the hard to manage spots that were stuck on the old engine, and maybe _that_ would make him feel better.

“With Hammer.”

“Yep.”

Clint waited for a moment, and when nothing more was forthcoming, moved over so he could hand Tony things. Dum-E gave the beta a friendly bump as he halted beside him, but made no move to relinquish the hovering over his creator to the human. “Alright. So it clearly didn’t go well. At all. What did he do?”

Tony gave a humorless laugh, planting both hands on the engine for a moment as he leaned over, staring down into the heart of it. “Do you remember how I used to tell you about my escapades avoiding him at events? How I’d make rounds early to make sure I talked to everyone I needed to who was there before he showed up and made it difficult?”

“Kind of hard not to. They were some of your more entertaining stories just after I moved in.” Clint ended up just staring at Tony’s fingers when he held out a hand a moment later, but Dum-E was quick to drop a wrench into it so that Tony could lean halfway into the engine to get at the spot he’d just been studying.

“Yeah, well, those events seemed like the most productive ones _ever_ compared to tonight. Do you know how many people I actually managed to talk to about what I needed to tonight? Three. Fucking _three_ , Clint.” The growl in his voice as he lifted his head to look back toward his beta was impressive, and it made the blond wonder if maybe Tony hadn’t been veering again. At the very least the night meant he probably needed to be coaxed into a round of playing if that tone was _any_ indication.

“Clingy?” The sharp bark of laughter as Tony looked back to what his hands were doing was not encouraging. “Okay, worse than clingy. Might as well let it all out, you have me curious now.”

“That fucker. That unmitigated _asshole_ , didn’t let me talk to anyone! Any time we spent more than two seconds apart, he was there, either leading me off or doing his level best to make sure to keep me from being able to discuss a damn thing without him changing the subject. And every time he pulled that shit, and he knew he was doing it too, he’d give me this smile and AGH.” Tony pulled back from the engine, tossing the wrench down and carding his fingers through his hair as he straightened. “The only people I managed to talk to were because Pepper distracted him, and that’s fucking not okay.”

Clint grimaced, offering both hands to the agitated omega and dipping his head slightly down and to the side, peeking through his hair. It was a deliberately soft pose, and once Tony saw it, it made something soften in his demeanor, though he was still clearly agitated. “Okay, so he took your giving him a chance and peed all over it, basically?”

“Yes. If he’d wanted all my attention just for the sake of wanting my attention, it would have been different, but this wasn’t what that was. This wasn’t him asking me to a dinner where that was expected, this was doing this at an event where one was _supposed_ to circulate, catch up with contacts. Find out the status of things in the business world, you know. And he knew it too.” Tony’s tone was a little calmer, and he glanced at Clint’s hands, reaching out and trailing his fingertips over his palms before noticing that even the bit of fussing he’d done had been enough to get grease all over him, and by turn Clint when he touched him.

The blond just flashed him a grin when Tony gave him a slightly apologetic look. “Don’t worry about my hands, you should see your hair.” He sobered quickly though, reaching and offering Tony the cleaning rags that Dum-E had just dropped off next to them. “Look, you did your best. Yes, you guys have been dancing around each other for ages, but he hasn’t been handling it the best from the start, right? Not any more than you were. You set your misgivings aside and clearly, he didn’t.”

Tony nodded at the words, pressing his lips together for a moment. “I need to apologize to the others for ditching them.”

“He was treating you like a trophy, I think they’ll get why you had to get out of there.”

“Maybe.” Tony hesitated a moment, then shoved the cloth at Clint pointedly once he’d gotten his hands as clean as possible. “Get my face.”

Clearly relieved that he wouldn’t have to press the point, the beta readily did as told, reaching up to scrub a streak of grease off of Tony’s cheek. “They’ll understand. I have to admit I never would have thought you’d have the patience to put up with that behavior for long enough to get worked up into this state, to be entirely honest here.”

Tony’s smile was grim. “Nothing like feeling like you owe someone a chance to teach you that you _really_ didn’t.”

Clint snorted, moving from his cheek to his forehead. “He’s going to start the gift barrage again now that he’s made ground, you know. He’s that type.”

“I know. I’m already dreading the papers, honestly. You just know that us going together will make a byline somewhere, and it’s not going to bode well for me at all after how he was acting out there.”

“Because he was an ass? Seriously?”

“No, because I’m an _omega_ , he’s my _soulmate_ , and he was an ass. Trust me, being an omega in that mix puts me at a serious disadvantage. They’re probably going to spin it that I finally accepted his courting and I’ll have to fight my way around the loss of credibility that the perceived weakness will get me.”

Clint wrinkled up his nose, pulling back when the rag started doing more harm than good, though it really couldn’t do anything for Tony’s hair. “You mean you’re going to have to lean on Stane again? Didn’t you just stop needing to do that from the last mess?”

“Unfortunately.” Tony reached up, lightly touching his hair and making a face as he realized it was actually sticking up. “Right. I’m going to take a bath. Are you joining me? Because now that you’ve got me talking I’m _so_ not done ranting.”

Clint examined him, then bobbed his head, settling back on his heels to wait for Tony to lead him there. “Yeah, totally. Just don’t use the froufrou scented bubble bath, pretty please? I’ll wash your hair if you don’t.”

Reaching out, Tony took his hand and started to tow him along in his wake. “Yeah yeah, no flowers for the big macho beta. I recently got a new bottle of that chocolate mint bubble bath you like, you’ll be fine.” He didn’t stop walking, but he did glance over his shoulder, fully aware of what Clint had been doing, and grateful for it. “Thank you, by the way.”

“S’what I’m here for Tony.”

Tony just squeezed his fingers in a repeat of the thanks, and finally felt like he could properly _breathe_ for the first time all night.


	36. Godfather

The next time Obadiah dropped by was both expected and a relief. It meant that Tony didn’t need to hunt him down about the ridiculousness that had been his outing with Hammer, and also that he probably didn’t need to really _explain_. In fact, he strongly suspected that Pepper had called him, which was good, great even, because much as he adored his various soulmates, they couldn’t really look at this problem with the objective eye he needed, and Happy just plain didn’t have the experience.

Which left his godfather. 

It also had the added bonus of cutting off the hovering that James had been unobtrusively doing, which was also a relief. It had been different from Clint, settling to his dominant instincts because it gave him something to do, but James’ hovering was going the other way and that was so far from what he needed at the moment that the break was welcome. The alpha simply gave Obadiah his customary long stare, then left the room once it was made clear that the beta intended to stay a while.

“Tony! Still no love from that alpha of yours I see.” The amused tone wasn’t lost on Tony, and he felt his shoulders ease even as a small smile came to his lips.

“Afraid not. I’m his favorite and if his instincts aren’t happy with you around me, I think he’s decided he won’t give you a try when you’re not in my line of sight.” Tony felt no need to stay seated as the beta halted just inside the doorway to the room, readily moving over to hug his godfather in greeting. “Which is an absolute shame. You’re a great guy.”

There was no hesitation in the returned hug, and Tony felt something ease in his chest. He would have hated if the beta was upset with him for how badly he’d handled Hammer, but that clearly wasn’t the case. Which was good, great even! Of course, it didn’t linger either, and when he was nudged back to arm’s length, a hand on each shoulder, Tony just gave him a rueful smile and let himself be examined. “Well, you and I know that, but not everyone is as perceptive as us, now are they? So, I bet you know this isn’t strictly a social visit Tony, even if we probably both wish it was.”

“Yeah yeah, I know. Believe me, I know. I actually expected you to be cranky at me for the scandal this is likely to cause, to be honest.”

“Really? Now, I’m not happy, but I’m more worried about you Tony.” He squeezed his shoulders, giving the omega an affectionate shake, just enough to bring the smile back. “While we both know that wasn’t a good move, you had to have your reasons for giving that upstart a chance. Care to explain them to me? I honestly have trouble following all this soulmate nonsense sometimes.”

Tony snorted, then waved his hand back toward the couch, ducking out of his hold to go sit. Well, maybe less sit and more petulantly flop onto it. “Well, to start, he wore me down. I know, I know, I’m better than that, but he really was being pathetic Obie.”

The beta regarded him for a moment, then gave a soft snort as he followed to take the armchair nearby. “You’ve been known to do things for worse reasons than that, so I can’t say I’m terribly surprised.”

“Oh _come on,_ now you’re making it sound like you were expecting this.” Tony paused, taking in Obadiah’s expression, and then sank down lower on the couch with a whine. “You _were_ expecting this? Seriously? And you didn’t say anything?”

“We both know you like to make your own mistakes without any interference from me Tony.”

“That was once!” When that just got him a disbelieving stare, Tony slid sideways so he was sprawled over with a pout, though he was quick to sit up and move all the way down as close on the couch as possible to the chair. “Okay, so it’s been more than once. It’s been a number ridiculously higher than once. But you still could have pointed it out!”

“And what good would that have done? You probably would have jumped in it sooner just to prove me wrong and we both know it.” When Tony covered his face on a groan, the beta deigned to lean over and ruffle up his hair. “There, you see? Now we have to sort out damage control for your lapse in judgment.”

“You mean I can’t just leave you to do it?” Tony peeked through his fingers as he felt Obadiah take his hand back, and pouted at the unimpressed face he’d received for his efforts. “I’m guessing that’s a no. Okay, so what part of the disaster is going to draw the most fire you think?”

“The gifts. If you keep accepting them it’s going to look like you’re still favoring his suit. Start turning them away Tony, it’ll be better in the long run.”

Leaning harder on the arm of the couch, Tony gave his godfather a pathetic stare. “They may be awful, but I like the attention. That’s going to suck.”

“That’s just too bad. You’ll have to go out of your way to make amends to everyone he disrupted you talking to at that event as well. You _know_ that, don’t you? I can’t repair those bridges.”

“You could try?” Tony let the thought hang wistfully in the air for a long moment. “Okay, you can’t try or it will make me look even weaker to everyone who already has it in their head I’ll let a beta speak for me. It was a nice thought. So, what _can_ you do to help?”

“I’ll arrange an event. You have to attend, and no letting that new PA of yours do all the circulating for you. I like her, she’s feisty, but it won’t help the situation. As it is, people have started to notice that your household is bigger lately and are starting to think you might be settling in to play house-omega more than to handle your business.”

“But that’s not-”

“Tony.” When Tony responded by cutting himself off, Obadiah gave a nod, squeezing his shoulder knowingly. “People notice more than you give them credit for, and we know that since you’ve taken over the company you’ve been more distracted with this soulmate business than you haven’t been. I’ve been handling it, but you know how it looks from the outside.”

“It looks like I’m more concerned with my pack and love life than the company.” Tony released a sigh, drooping in place.

“Unfortunately. This whole thing with Justin Hammer has only punctuated that, underlining what people were already seeing. You need to be more pro-active Tony, to work harder, or this will never resolve.”

“But-” He let the rest of the sentence die, nodding as his shoulders drooped, prompting another reassuring squeeze from the beta. “Right. Okay. I have some projects I can sort out, and then I’ll talk to Rhodey about what the airforce has been needing that SI hasn’t been covering. Think that would be a decent start?”

Looking satisfied by the conclusions Tony had drawn, Obadiah gave him both a nod and a reassuring smile as he pulled away. “It will probably start to mend relations with the public. Now, enough of that, let’s go to lunch, make it look like business when it’s really just feeding you. Sound good?”

“James probably won’t come with if you’re there but... you know what, that’s fine. You and me haven’t had a sit down that’s just us in what, a year? Way too long, in any case. You drive?”

“I did.” When Obadiah rose, so did Tony, and the beta looped his arm over his shoulders as he headed toward the door down to the garage. “But you know I admire your cars, so let’s take one of those instead. Deal?”

“Deal. We can even take the one I just finished tweaking the other day. I haven’t had a chance to take it on the open road yet.”

Obadiah just smiled at Tony’s excitement and nodded agreeably, which was more than enough to settle any lingering anxieties over the whole Hammer incident that had been lurking.

If his godfather was at ease, then what reason did Tony have to worry about it?

He knew what he was doing.


	37. New Years Eve

Tony had been looking forward to this conference for months. The place was going to be utterly packed with the best and brightest of science, and he’d mistakenly thought that that all by itself would make it spectacular. Of course, that was before his soulmates, one by one, ended up being unable to go.

Clint was first, of course, the beta being called away for SHIELD because of his Aunt Peggy finally taking the step of retiring from active leadership to something strictly political. It was an overdue move, honestly, but the delay had been needed. Especially with the house cleaning that had been going on in the last couple years that he wasn’t supposed to be aware of. There had ended up being zero percent of a chance that he’d come to Switzerland with him and the others once he’d been assigned whatever had been asked of him, but that was just how these things went. He was used to that. It was just like how Rhodey couldn’t just pop away from his military duties, and thus had never been expected to be able to attend in the first place.

What he _hadn’t_ expected was for the next person to declare that they couldn’t come was going to be _a scientist_. Bruce wasn’t going. He’d considered it, but apparently, he had just had a breakthrough on whatever his project was. Tony understood confidentiality and hadn’t pried even if he really wanted to, but he knew that Bruce was going to follow it through until the inspiration from the breakthrough dried up. Tony understood that, and he was vaguely grateful that Betty had at least remembered to call him and say that they weren’t coming. She had assured him that Jane was all set to be there though, so that was still someone he could hunt down. After all, they didn’t meet up nearly often enough.

That Pepper was the next to follow was a tragedy, and not just because she wouldn’t be attending, though that had made him sad for entirely different reasons. Her dad was in the hospital in the wake of a stroke, and he wasn’t about to try to wheedle her away when the older beta might very well not even _make_ it to the new year with how bad it had been. The situation had almost been enough for him to cancel so he could stay with her but she’d refused him the gesture the moment she’d seen it on his face. She wanted him to go and have fun, then tell her all about it so that she had something nice to think about when he got home. She had, however, made Happy promise to stick to his side like glue and take business cards from everyone who had any so that Tony wouldn’t ‘conveniently’ lose them. Tony had pouted to make her smile, but his heart hadn’t been in it. He totally would have done that.

That meant that the only soulmate he’d expected to still _attend_ by the morning of the flight overseas had been James. But no, apparently that had fallen through as well. For the first time in over a year, there was a lead on the alpha’s youngest soulmate, a rumor that had made its way over a grapevine that only his assassin actually understood the route of. In a way, Tony had been touched that ze’d considered staying with him anyway, in light of what had happened a few years previously, but this was why he’d hired Happy. So he’d have someone with him in case he was ever alone at an event, and regardless of whatever else the jovial alpha was, he was protective. So Tony had seen James firmly off the moment they touched down on Europe, and he continued over with just Happy in his entourage. 

All of this had culminated into him drinking. It was something he’d indulged in less and less since he’d started in on the dramatic quest that was his pack, but he was sad. Yes, he had Happy at hand, which was great, he was a friend, and he knew Jane was here _somewhere_ , but he was allowed to sulk. Especially when he’d really planned to use the conference as an excuse to start up that conversation with James that he’d kept putting off out of nerves. He’d also planned to show off Bruce and how amazing he was to all these awesome science people, and he had wanted to see Pepper in action at something like this, sure, but the big sulk was James and he wasn’t about to lie to himself about it. 

Which probably accounted for why he’d apparently decided to flirt with every pretty person that came around him too if he was being entirely honest with himself. He hadn’t exactly been saving himself, but he had been on something of a self-enforced dry spell and he was just sulky enough to want some personal attention since he was going home empty handed on that front anyway. Sure, he didn’t plan to actually sleep with anyone, but the _attention_ was still nice, and that was what actually counted as far as he was concerned. 

Happy didn’t quite seem to agree, though, and kept taking anything that wasn’t champagne back out of his fingers after he got it in hand. And even _those_ he’d been eying with fairly intense consideration for the last half hour or so. “Happy, if you start taking away my champagne I’m going to throw a tantrum and you’re not going to like it at _all_.” The words may have been mild, but Tony meant every word, and he watched as Happy’s whole face pinched in turn. 

“You are beyond drunk. I have no idea how you’re even still speaking coherently. Are you going to even remember this in the morning?” Happy followed the question with a firm hand on the small of his back, propelling him along across the conference hall that he’d just gotten off the stage for.

“Maybe not all of it, but the important bits, yes. Entirely yes.” He leaned in close, staring up at Happy with questions in his eyes. “Happy, do you think Jane’s avoiding me? I haven’t seen her yet. Or do you think she got lost in conversation with some hot alpha somewhere? She’s totally weak to super hot alphas, it’s hilarious.”

“I doubt she’s avoiding you. There _are_ quite a few people here, and she arrived by different means than you. In fact, I bet we’ll find her in the morning at one of those conferences before the event closes up.” Tony’s skeptical look in turn went entirely ignored, though the alpha _did_ continue. “I’ll call her for you to make sure we have a meet up before it’s time to go home. I’ll even see if she might not fly back to the States with us instead of her colleagues, how does that sound?”

There was a beat of silence in which Tony finished off his current glass of champagne, which he then he graciously allowed Happy to take it away with a little grin. “Yeah, okay, that works for me. I’ll stop worrying about it. Instead, let’s meet people! Even if everyone bailed on me, I came here to have _fun_.”

“Does that mean that you’re done sulking then? Great, how about we get some food in you before you make yourself sick?”

Tony pointed at his face at the chide and opened his mouth to answer before closing it again, forehead wrinkling as he realized he had yet to find any snacks in this place since arriving. “Actually, yes, that’s a great idea. But find me a science to talk to first. I’m parched for a bright mind to talk to here and it’s making me incredibly sad.”

“You just want someone pretty to talk to while you eat.”

“That too, but I’ll just take brilliant if there’s no gorgeous and brilliant options. C’mon. There’s a cluster of people over there who look to be confusing and intriguing passerby in turns. I bet they’re exactly what I was thinking about!” Tony tugged on Happy’s arm, making a fair attempt at getting him moving.

“Yes, okay, but any conversations require a restaurant. Your soulmates will kill me if they hear I let you pass out because I didn’t feed you.”

“They’re not that bad.”

“James is that bad.”

“...Okay, so one of them is that bad.” Tony flashed him an apologetic smile, turning his attention to the cluster of people he’d chosen as a target for his attention.

He found himself interested even before he had context. “...and that’s where I’ve had the problem with my project. The genetic side of it isn’t giving me anywhere near the same issues as the technological bits of the delivery system, and this is just working with _plants_.”

“Not to cut in, but I’m cutting in. Tony Stark. Hi. You are sounding very very interesting.” Tony planted himself next to the alpha who had just been speaking, looking them over as he noted he didn’t recognize any of these people.

There was a laugh from one of the betas who had been listening, and they stepped forward from the fringes, flashing him a smile as they adjusted their glasses. “I have no doubt that everyone here knows who you are. I’m Ho Yinsen, he, and the lovely alpha who was just speaking is Maya Hansen. She was just telling me about her recent project, if you care to offer any insight?”

Tony gave the older scientist a thoughtful look, then grinned, looking back to the hopeful expression he was being given by the younger of the two, even as the few others they’d been talking to drifted off to more lively conversations. They probably hadn’t been keeping up and were relieved to go. Heathens. “I’d love to, but how about you guys have a sit down with me at the restaurant in this place? Food’s been pretty sparse since I got here, as I was so kindly reminded.” 

Maya hooked her arm through his, clearly noting how close Tony had been standing to her. “Sounds good to me. And weren’t you just saying that all this standing around was making your feet ache Dr. Yinsen?”

The beta laughed and inclined his head with utmost gravity. “Quite. I’m not as young as I used to be. Shall we?”

Tony glanced over his shoulder to make sure that Happy was still nearby, then looked back to the other two and nodded, tugging on his snagged arm to get them moving in the correct direction. “We definitely shall. Maybe then my babysitter over there might stop making frowny faces at me for the bubbly.”

He entirely knew Happy was rolling his eyes at him, but he _had_ wanted him to stop sulking.

That always came with teasing.


	38. Deviations

The conversation in the restaurant had been beyond fascinating. Admittedly, he was pretty sure that part of that was his sheer familiarity with the subject. Not the nanotechnology angle that the alpha was using, no, but the roots it had in the serum were familiar. Not just from his dad either. Bruce had bounced some theories like this off of him a couple times, and he’d come up with some ideas _then_ that were certainly applicable _here_. Just not in the same way at all.

In fact, the whole conversation made him desperately wish Bruce had come, because he just _knew_ that Bruce would have adored talking to Maya about this. They probably would have launched into a debate about parallel methods of restoration of the human body or something. Which is how he ended up, about two hours later, poking Happy repeatedly to see if he’d made sure to get her card. She found it hilarious, of course, but Tony thought it was perfectly legitimate, and he was much, much too drunk to care if he was coming off as overexcited about the whole thing.

It certainly didn’t put her off asking him back to her room so she could show him her plants, which she’d brought so she could keep an eye on them during the conference. He, of course, had accepted, and that was how he’d found himself in an overcrowded space, leaning hard on Happy who looked more exasperated than bothered by it as he held him up, with Maya adding her button push to about twenty others. It really did make Tony wonder how many people thought they could _fit_. He squinted as one particularly enthusiastic person practically sprinted for the already overcrowded elevator. They would so not be able to wiggle into the little space left, and Tony reached over, freeing an arm well enough to push the door close button.

Of course, it was about then that he heard what he was sure was his _name_ from the person, and on realizing that the doors would close before they got there, noted that the gesture had probably come off as deliberate. Whoops. It was too late to fix it, even if he’d wanted to, as the elevator had already closed in the poor person’s face. He was sure that they would catch up to him in the morning, in any case, if he ended up just not coming down again. Shaking his head, he looked to Maya and flashed her a grin, putting the whole thing out of his mind.

Her plants were, indeed, excellent, and he thought them even more so after Happy managed to make one of them explode, though she hadn’t exactly shared his thrilled reaction over it. Exploding plants, after all, no matter how fast they regrew, weren’t exactly _practical_. The conversation that followed was intense, Happy sitting back in his chair just watching the whole thing with a rather large dose of amusement that had nothing to do with understanding the topic.

He’d even asked a few questions! Tony was so proud. 

“So wait, they explode _because_ of how fast they grow back? Shouldn’t they just keep exploding instead of stopping after one?”

The face Maya made in reaction to the question was enough to send Tony into a fit of giggles, and he leaned on Happy, patting his chest to show just he approved. “Yeah Maya, how’d you fix _that_ problem.”

She reached over, lightly swatting Tony’s knee at the question, having already learned to keep her hands mostly to herself via Happy’s hovering. The New Year’s kiss had been accepted with grace, but the bigger of the two had firmly settled Tony beside him after, and she hadn’t taken another run at the omega since. She wasn’t an idiot, and she knew clearly an overprotective packmate when she saw one. “I didn’t fix it, thank you. Instead, I localized it so that the chain reaction stopped regrowth until the explosion series was finished.” One of her hands waved to the charred corner of the room. “That’s why there’s not really much of a plant left over there, and why I’m going to have to leave them my security deposit.”

Happy made a face at the pointed jab. “I already told you I was sorry.”

She looked for all the world as though she hadn’t heard him, though her lips quirked into a small smirk. “But I figured it was safer to have the plant in a possibly dangerous situation like this place if the explosion was small and contained rather than staggered and... bigger.”

“Which is totally fair, though you know most people would have just left it at home right?” Tony raised both eyebrows at her, grinning as he leaned harder on Happy.

“This is a science conference.” Her own eyebrow raise back was fairly pointed.

“Okay, so most people _wouldn’t_ have left it at home. You’re not supposed to correct me, I’m much too amazing.”

Happy snorted and hooked his arm around Tony, putting the listing omega back into a mostly upright position. “What you are is drunker than a skunk. Dr. Hansen, I think it might be about time for us to get going. I’m sure he’ll be in contact with you soon.”

“The card! Make sure about the card!”

Looking exasperated, Happy pointedly showed Tony that his pocket full of cards was intact, and the omega promptly gave him a beaming smile, even as Maya covered another laugh with her hand. She shook her head as she got to her feet. “If you’re really worried about losing it, how about you give me yours too?”

The look she got from him was slightly awed, but that quickly transformed into a pout as Tony’s rifle through his pockets produced absolutely nothing. “I think they’re all in my room. Happy, did you bring any of my cards? Or any of yours?”

“Sorry, I don’t _have_ any, and you never give me yours to hand out for you. Something about only giving cards to those you deem worthy?”

“Pepper never listens when I tell her that.”

“Pepper has her own cards.” There was a moment of staring, Tony’s pout intensifying as it carried on, and Happy finally rolled his eyes, looking back to Maya. “I’ll write my number down and get you in touch with Mr. Stark here after you do.”

“Doctor.”

“Drunk and having me giving out my personal number.” When Tony subsided into a sulk, Happy just shook his head and wrote out the number. “There, see? Problem solved. It was nice to meet you, Dr. Hansen, but I think it’s about time for my boss here to sleep it off.”

Maya accepted the paper with the scribble, expression turning wry. “I’m sure you will be hearing from me. Thank you for the conversation. I’ve had a great night.”

Tony just gave her a brilliant smile, letting Happy pull him to his feet as he waved his other hand at her. “Any time! You’re great. Hear from you soon.”

“C’mon you.” Happy shared a wry smile with Maya, and then with a shake of his head steered Tony out of the room and off to the elevator. He apparently hadn’t been joking about getting him to sleep it off.

Still, Tony didn’t mind. If that meant that Happy was planning a nice buffer for miserable hangover time before seeing Jane, he could totally get behind sleeping now.

Even if he _had_ been having fun.


	39. Infringement

Jane was, as far as Tony was concerned, a spectacular omega. She was smart, focused, and knew how to keep a _room_ focused, even when they were beyond skeptical about what they were focused _on_. He kind of wished that he hadn’t had to take actual _classes_ to manage the same thing, but he didn’t begrudge her for it, because really, it just meant he always looked forward to seeing her during those rare times that their schedules had lined up. 

The fact that she was the only part of the pack who had made it out to the conference and party other than Happy had really only heightened those feelings, and that was his only excuse for why he was down at the restaurant that they’d chosen to meet at over an hour before he actually _needed_ to be. For one thing, _hangover_ , and for another, this meant he could actually get his bearings and be _pleasant_ by the time she actually came down to meet him. He hadn’t gotten any food during this interim, in spite of Happy’s prodding that he didn’t have to wait for her company, but he _had_ gotten coffee and juice, which suited him just fine. This made it perfectly comfortable to slump down on his side of the booth cradling a cup of one or the other as he hid behind his sunglasses and just watched the comings and goings, playing spot the conference goer and having a nice _quiet_ morning.

At least, that was the plan. Instead of the welcome, lovely face of Jane Foster, a much less pretty but far more determined face, an alpha, of course, it was always an alpha, slid into the booth across from Tony and Happy to disrupt their waiting. Yes, the new fellow clearly had quite the time of it _getting_ there and hopping into the booth, but they hadn’t even bothered to _ask_ first, and that just rubbed Tony all kinds of the wrong way. 

So, because of this, the moment the alpha opened their mouth to speak, Tony cut them off, deciding to give them a chance to defend their presumption before Happy took it upon himself to bodily remove the interloper. “You know, it’s considered polite to ask first, or at the very least _introduce yourself_ before invading someone’s breakfast table.” Even as he was speaking, Tony was straightening out of his relaxed slouch, setting his cup down as he flashed the figure across from him a sharp smile.

The alpha seemed _surprised_ to be rebuked. What, did they think that they’d get a free pass because of their disability? “Oh. Sorry about that, Dr. Alderich Killian. He.” He offered his hand, and when Tony just stared at it instead of touching it, took it back with a slightly offended, and not a little awkward, clearing of his throat. “Right, I tried to catch you last night, but your elevator closed before I could say anything to you. I wanted to tell you about an initiative called AIM that I’m putting together, a think tank of sorts, where we’ll work on changing the world through progressive technology.”

Tony could see that the alpha was gearing up to lay out his spiel, but Tony could already tell that this just wasn’t going to work. First, the other scientist, and Tony was now sure he was, was acting like he had a _right_ to his time, and secondly, was assuming he would have a lot of said time to spend on whatever this initiative of theirs _was_. So, instead of letting him get his hopes up, Tony shut him down instead. “I already do that.” When he opened his mouth to protest, Tony waved his hand through the air to cut him off, putting more emphasis on his words. “I _already do that._ It may not be whatever you have in mind, but Stark Industries does a lot for the world, more than weapons, and I personally tend to do a lot of that. If you contact me via my PA, Ms. Potts, she’ll let you know when I have time in my schedule to give this a proper meeting, but for now, I really don’t have time for it, and being here is as much work as it is a vacation, understand?”

“But you have time right now.” Dr. Killian was clearly thrown off base by the rebuke, and sat forward, taking out a card and setting it on the table, intensifying his earnestness. “Just hear me out. You’d be in contact with other great minds through this initiative, other people whose brilliance could stand up to yours-”

Tony narrowed his eyes, staring from the alpha to the card, and then leaned forward, tugging his glasses down a touch to stare at him as he cut him off. “Look. You are clearly very invested in this little project of yours, and I was sincere that if you contacted my PA she’d make time for you, but that opportunity is fading the longer you stay here. I’m here to meet someone, who I might add is whose seat you’re sitting in, and if you think I don’t have contact with any other brilliant minds on my own you’re sorely mistaken. Now, if you would go, that would be _great,_ and we can pretend you didn’t ignore my attempts to get you to do it sooner so you can have a solid chance when you come through with this using the proper approach, alright?”

“But-”

This time it was Happy who cut the other alpha off, tone firm. “I think Dr. Stark has been perfectly accommodating to this conversation up to this point, but you should probably take the chance he’s giving you and leave before that goes away, don’t you?”

That was enough to shut the alpha up, and he looked from one to the other before pressing his lips tightly together and gave them both a sharp nod, moving to get up and leave. “Right. I’ll do that. Stark.” With another nod, the alpha turned to limp away, something about his carriage both humiliated and furious at once.

Tony grimaced as he watched him go. “Well, that could have gone better. Take his card, won’t you Happy? If he does contact Pepper she should at least have a little warning.” 

Happy looked reluctant to do so but stuck it in his pocket anyway. Still, his whole countenance lit up as he spotted the person they were _actually_ here to meet, and he nudged Tony to knock him out of the pensive thoughts he’d sunk into. “Tony, Jane incoming.” 

At the prod, Tony snapped out of his thoughts and realized he’d missed his chance to comment on finally getting Happy to use the title of doctor. Damn. Still, the words were more than enough to get him looking around, and he immediately flashed a brilliant smile as he caught sight of the other omega, getting to his feet to go greet her and putting Killian firmly out of his mind. There was, after all, absolutely no reason to let a pushy alpha ruin his breakfast plans with a member of his pack.

There was Bruce gossip to be had and science to discuss. Also, he could finally _eat_.

All in all, despite the hangover and human hiccup, a nice morning to venture into, in his opinion.


	40. Progression

The house was oddly quiet on days like today. 

There was JARVIS, of course, always improving, always expanding, getting stronger and reaching for more, but he wasn’t really a big talker if Tony didn’t reach out and poke at him first. He suspected part of that was the fact that he was still young, that Tony had yet to stop helping him grow and he was continually taking bigger leaps as doors were opened to him. He _also_ suspected that the other part was, honestly, that he simply had no idea how to start a conversation yet. Eventually, that would probably change, but not now, it seemed, and certainly not today.

No, today the house was nearly empty, without the sounds of rustling paper, tapping keys, or someone fussing with a television or radio. It was a day where he found himself torn between asking his awkward kid to blast music in every room he walked through or to let the quiet sink into his bones. The silence reminded him of the year he spent distracting himself before James had been found, when he’d built the AI line by line in a painstaking labor of love that he by no means regretted. It also reminded him of the deafening moments when he’d expected someone to be around who couldn’t be anymore, as happened far too often in his teens.

In the end, he chose neither.

He knew the house wasn’t empty of all people save him. He knew James was home. 

So he went looking.

If his steps sounded too loud to him in the silence, then that just meant he needed to search a little harder, and while he could have, probably should have, asked JARVIS where the alpha was, well. He didn’t do that either. 

He knew why.

After all, he’d been something of a coward lately. First, he’d excused himself by saying that he’d been looking for an opportune moment. Then, he delayed by telling himself that James was probably upset over the latest dead end around the new year. When that had worn thin, he’d examined himself to try to decide how sincere he really felt about everything, since he kept putting it off, avoiding the conversation he kept telling himself he _wanted_ to have, and examined his behavior, drunk or not, at the New Year’s party. All in all, he’d tied himself in knots, and he knew on some level that today was going to be the day.

They were alone in the house. James had been in a particularly spirited mood that morning. Adding those both together really made it clear there wasn’t a better time.

So, Tony, being Tony, was delaying, because what if James said no?

What if ze wasn’t interested in him that way?

He knew, more than most even, that not every soul mate relationship would lead to romantic intimacy. Some didn’t even lend to intimacy at all, as evidenced by the whole Hammer situation. But all of that was just a series of excuses. He knew it as soon as he stepped into a room and saw how the cream materials and walls were brightening the space, but not the figure staring out the windows in the middle of it.

Even if seeing the alpha at the moment made his nerves flutter with anxiety about what he wanted to broach, he just always found himself so _happy_ that his soul mate chose to stay with him here, and this was no exception. He didn’t want them to think he’d crossed a line and _leave_. Too many of his soulmates wouldn’t stay as it was, and it wasn’t like James didn’t have places ze could be, out there, searching. He knew that, and that’s what it boiled down to. 

He was scared that this one would decide ze had somewhere ze’d rather be too. 

All the same, he had to take the step, to cross the line, and see if it worked out. In fact, he even got as far as opening his mouth to say... something. He honestly had no idea how he was going to jump into it, probably in a fashion that used the most words possible in the most roundabout way possible, but he didn’t get the opportunity.

James started talking instead, never once looking away from the ocean outside the windows.

“Did you know that back before the war, it was pretty much unheard of for there to be an omega like you? A chassy was expected to be pretty, dolled up, and escorted just about everywhere. Now, don’t get me wrong, you’re all those things, but I don’t see you fluffing around in dresses and making eyes at us to take care of you. You wanna take care of us. Steve was like that too, even if he didn’t have much in the way of opportunity before everything turned into crap. I can respect it. Like it even, but the niggle is there that says I should be the one taking care of you, not vice versa, especially since my memories of back then have come out of where they’ve been hiding.” Ze finally glanced over their shoulder at that, looking at Tony for a long moment before the solemn gaze returned to the water outside. “I know you’ve been aware of the whole thing, that I’ve been struggling with it, and I’ve seen you’ve been trying to help. Even if helping just means _not asking_ most of the time, when I go quiet on you.”

Tony wasn’t sure if he should say anything at that, but he did pad forward, coming to stand at the window too, head cocked slightly as he listened to his soul mate talk. He honestly had no idea what brought all this on, but he should hear them out before jumping to conclusions, even if this did sound suspiciously like it was straddling the line between ‘thanks, bye’ and ‘will you marry me?’

His movements garnered him another long glance at the very least, and this time ze didn’t look away from him. “So, you know, in light of all that, I wanna make it real clear where I stand. I’m not going to ask you to do anything you haven’t already been doing, or stop anything you’ve been doing either but for one thing. Keeping in mind I’m aware you got a lot of love to give and I’m not expecting to have all of it... I think I’d like to have what you’re willing to give me.” Ze paused, then offered Tony their nearer hand, the metal one, palm turned up. “With me doing my best to give you the same. You know, in something above and beyond friendship. Dating.”

It was the last bit that made Tony realize that James was just as nervous as he’d been, the alpha’s posture tense in that odd way that didn’t show any tension, showing off their anxiety in a way that would only be clear to someone that knew them well. There was no hesitation when Tony took their hand after that.

“I’d love to.”

He really meant that too, even if he _did_ suspect that there would end up being some _conversation_ about that little ‘a lot of love to give’ aside. 

But that was for later. 

For now, he had a hand to hold and a window to stare out of, and he was more than willing to enjoy that as he let months of nervous tension leave him at the sheer relief of them being on the same page. 

Though, seriously, they were _definitely_ going to talk about that later.

A lot of love to give. Just. What?

But _that_ was for _later_.


	41. Children

In the last several months, life had been going amazingly well for Tony. That’s not to say that there weren’t some ups and downs, of course. The entire _talk_ that James had insisted on over a month after the change in their relationship concerning Tony’s feelings about Pepper had been extremely awkward, but ultimately welcome, for instance, thus giving one of those ups and downs all by itself. Still, he didn’t know _what_ it said about him that he was fairly sure that James had insisted on their terms because they could see the lay of the land when Tony still hadn’t gotten to the top of the hill. 

Not that he minded so much, Pepper was _amazing_ , beautiful, and he regretted nothing at all about bringing her into his life, but James had looked at the situation and, given that he’d been wearing minimal clothes at the time, his _soulmark collection_ and informed him that ze was fully aware it was very likely that at least one more of those marks would catch Tony’s heart as well. Of course, then ze had gone and tacked on that he was far too loving of a person not to share his heart freely when he decided to love someone, regardless of the way. That, at least, had led to a positively _fantastic_ evening and no small amount of completely new marks that Tony had been pleased to see actually lasted a couple days before fading. Hickeys were the best, in his opinion, and he was quite pleased that James agreed with him on that one. 

Of course, not everything had been smooth sailing, and sometimes the universe just wanted to have a good laugh while kicking Tony in the teeth at the end of a spectacular evening. Tonight was apparently going to be one of those occasions, because _what_?

“No, no, see, you need to repeat that for me nice and slow, and I need my brain to process the words because I could have sworn you just said that a new soulmark just bloomed on my skin.” Tony twisted, attempting to look at the mark, but unfortunately for him, that wasn’t going to be possible. First of all, even he wasn’t that flexible, and second of all... there was no second of all. He needed a mirror.

“It did, right here.” James’ flesh and blood hand pressed along the space, warm and familiar as their fingers moved from point to point low on his spine. “It’s purple music notes, six of them, and it wasn’t there before we went to bed.” There was a touch of humor in their voice a moment later. “Why are you concerned?”

“Because we were!” Tony brought his hands together lewdly, twisting to look over his shoulder at them in consternation. “I mean, the _timing_...”

“Is inconsequential, as soulmarks only ever appear at the birth of a new soulmate. You are aware of this, which is why your current panic is concerning.” The raised eyebrow he was getting was oddly reassuring, and Tony turned forward as the wash of realization spilled over him.

“Instinctive reaction?” Tony lifted a hand to rub at his face, then gave a weak laugh. “I blame that I’ve actually... considered it?”

The hand at his back pressed more fully along the space over Tony’s tailbone, their palm warm and comforting as the alpha drew Tony in against their side. “Having another child?”

“Another?” Tony blinked, going with the pull and tucking himself against the warm line of skin as he turned his head to breathe in the comforting familiarity of his soulmate’s scent to settle his nerves. He was being ridiculous and he knew it, but that didn’t make the attention any less nice. “I think I would have noticed if I’d birthed anyone.”

“You have, and you did. You are utterly unsubtle in the fact that you consider yourself JARVIS’ mother and his strides as you have improved the tools he may use to grow have continually had you acting the proud parent. If it is meant to be a secret, you should perhaps not be quite so loud about the mark on your hand being his Tony.”

“Well. Yes. I mean, you’re all family, why wouldn’t I tell you? I just... I didn’t know that that counted in the practical sense. He was never a screaming bundle of helpless humanity that kept me up at night and needed me to keep him alive.”

James smiled, a small, amused thing as ze dipped their head, pressing kisses along his temple and cheekbone in a show of wordless fondness that always made Tony warm inside. “No, he was a construct of code that still keeps you up at night when you find new things to add for his protection, and you are the only one that can do them because you’re protective, and smart, enough to know that no one else can take care of him like you can.”

Tony opened his mouth, then closed it, a small flush along his cheeks as he hid his face near James’ neck. “Okay, okay, point made. Doesn’t negate that I was thinking about one of said screaming balls of humanity.”

“I think if you’re thinking of it in terms of screaming infants that you might want to think about it a bit more.” Their tone was amused, and the metal hand came up, stroking between his shoulders comfortingly. “But if you decide that’s something you want, we can talk about it.”

Tony chewed at his lower lip, then released a sharp breath. “No. I think... maybe someday, but not yet. I mean, yeah, I’m over the 30 marker in my life and all now, plus a little, but I feel like I’m not, you know, _there_?” He lifted his head to look into their face, a little frown there. “I think if I do decide to do this, to have a kid sometime I mean... I think it’s when we have everyone accounted for. I mean, I don’t mean the marks we don’t know, but while littlest soulmate is in the wind...”

“You want to be sure that little Natalia is safe before more children come into our lives. It’s an understandable concern, Tony.” Both hands tightened on Tony then, and James let out a rough sigh, gathering him close into their lap. “It is in no way a reflection on you that we have yet to locate her.”

“I get that, but some of my instincts don’t agree. I’m the top omega of the pack here James. It’s my job, and yeah I know it’s a stereotype but that doesn’t make it less true, but it _is_ my job to ensure the wellbeing of my pack, my _family_. And your wellbeing isn’t ensured.” He shifted around so he could straddle James’ lap, a comforting press of skin to skin as he held their gaze. “And I do mean _your_ wellbeing, not just hers. It worries you that you can’t find her, and the uncertainty of knowing if she’s alive picks at you.” He pressed their foreheads together. “You’re not going to be entirely _here_ until we manage to resolve it one way or another. I think I’d need that before _really_ considering bringing any children into the family with any kind of premeditation.”

There was a moment of quiet between them, and then James brightened in a small, slow smile. “But accidents are fine?”

Tony blinked once, then twice, before laughing and dipping his head to kiss their lips. “Yeah, accidents are fine. So let’s work on that, shall we?”

That James made a pleased noise in their chest and tumbled him back into the covers meant that they were willing to let the topic go, for now. “Gladly.”

But that the kisses were soft and sweet rather than heated? That meant that James understood why, wanted to be sure he knew he was loved, and that was just as precious as the playful topic change.

It was the perfect way to set him at ease.

He’d still have to look in a mirror later though.


	42. Sidetracked

There were a lot of reasons why Tony knew that this had been a terrible idea, and not the least of which was the fact that, presently, Clint looked about like he wanted to leap over the table between them and glomp him to the floor. Of course, there were many reasons why this was not what Tony would call an _ideal_ reaction, not the least of which being that he _really_ had no desire to end up wearing his breakfast, no matter _how_ enthusiastic the beta might be about something that, really, Tony had taken as a given.

This was actually comparable to the reaction the beta had when Tony had started poking around Clint’s favored hardware, in fact, and the two topics _really_ couldn’t have been further apart as far as he could tell. Yes, sure, Tony had just agreed to take in a beta he didn’t know, sight unseen, just because Clint had asked him if he’d be willing, but Tony had made a point, long ago, of making his house huge for exactly this kind of situation. Sure, there had been more soulmate and less ambiguous stranger that Clint was incredibly enthusiastic about in the general plan, but it didn’t change that this was, ultimately, kind of planned for. He’d braced himself for a big family before age ten when he realized that his soulmarks just kept coming.

The most recent mark just made him sigh and nod to himself instead of trying to fight what ultimately was just another point of data on the ‘yep, this is my life’ scale. So, random beta that Clint apparently had a crush on?

No biggie. 

That didn’t mean that Tony didn’t want more details though, and he pointed his fork at Clint as he chewed his waffle, eyes narrowing a little as he made _complete_ sure that table jumping wasn’t about to commence. “Now, don’t get me wrong birdie, I’m all for being generous and whatnot, but this isn’t going to become a habit is it? You do understand that this is a one-off situation? I mean, if you find a soulmate or something, yeah, bring em, that’s family, but I don’t want you bringing your work home.”

“Tony, the only work I bring home is you.” There was a small snort for that, but Clint paid him no mind. “No, she’s not part of a job. Yes, I _met_ her on a job, but that’s not the same thing. She’s just... she lost her place, and she’s been couch surfing for over a week now and we got on _really_ well... I think you’d like her. Level head on her shoulders, practical, sharp sense of humor. She’d fit right in around here! And hey, she might not stay in the house once she finds her feet. She might make like Happy and get her own place. I mean, I definitely wouldn’t mind if she stuck around, but-”

Tony rolled his eyes as Clint sort of derailed, and stuck his fork in his mouth, reaching over to jab Clint in the bicep hard enough to get an offended look for it and stop Clint talking both. “I get it, you have a crush and you hope it pans out. Given it’s you, and you’re practically waxing poetic, I’ll hope that it works out too. How does that sound?”

Clint gave him a downright mulish look, sinking down in his chair and cradling his coffee cup in his hands. “I do not have a _crush_. I just... think that Laura’s very nice and pretty. And that she’d fit in. That’s _all_.”

“I didn’t say it was a bad thing, Clint. Relax. I did say yes. I just wanted to be sure we were on the same page about how this kind of thing works. It’s not like you’re bringing home a random assassin or something. I do enough of that for both of us, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, about that. I hear you’ve been circling Pepper recently? Is that actually going to go anywhere?” The question led to a small reversal of their positions, with Tony leaning back and Clint straightening up to lean onto the table.

“Ah, well. I have no idea? So far she’s been humoring us I think. James has been fabulous and charming. You know them. When ze puts their mind to the cause ze is incredibly dazzling.” Tony waved one hand through the air, huffing a breath with a small eye roll. “I think they’re getting further on thawing her to the idea than I am. I don’t think she’s against it, on principle, but we do have a working relationship, and those two, well, they don’t.” 

“And you’re too chicken to step up and tell her you’d like it very much if she spent more nights in bed with you, hopefully naked?” The impish tone that the line was delivered in was very much _not_ appreciated.

“Hey. No. If you can’t admit you have a crush, you can’t get on my ass for being a little shy about mine. I, at least, admit that I have... a very deep, enduring admiration for Pepper’s sheer skill and efficiency in how she handles all things me. And many things that are not me but are related enough _to_ me that the difference in direction is negligible in practical terms.” Tony, the mature being he was, stuck his tongue out at him before snagging the last bite of his breakfast. He even went so far as turning in his chair so he was deliberately not angled toward Clint anymore, his whole posture fairly _screaming_ nonchalance. 

“Yeah, sure, uh huh. The writing has been on the wall about your feelings on _that_ front for years. Sure, not as long as for James, because wow did you have a hard-on for them, but immediate and crushing is totally the right way to put it for Pepper too. It’s because she’d wreck you in a heartbeat and never stop walking, isn’t it?”

Tony glanced back to him, setting his fork down carefully. “A little bit. But we work in business circles together and I have to be careful about that. You wouldn’t know this, because business has never been your interest, but an omega in business circles? Uphill battle. I can’t really risk anyone thinking that I’m going to hand things over just because she’s a soulmate of mine and _happens_ to be a beta. I mean, I won’t lie, it’s not an impossibility, someday, but that day isn’t today, and I damn well don’t want to deal with the flack that would come with people getting in my face about me ‘settling down’. It’s not an issue so much right now because James spends so much time dodging the public eye that no one comprehends that they and I are actually an item. But her? No, people would know the second we decided to go for it because she _is_ very public, mainly because I am. You see?”

“I think you might be overestimating the typical human being a bit there in your paranoia Tony.”

“Maybe, but I’m an arms dealer, one of the very best. You really think I can afford the risk? Bad enough that Obie handles more than half the business, but at least that’s a carryover from dad’s time, you know? People can overlook that flaw in my way of operating. If they see me focusing on a relationship though, especially with someone I work with, especially a _soulmate_? People will assume I’m primping her for a handover in no time. It sucks, a lot, but it’s true. So, for now, I’ll leave her in James’ hands and hope for the best. I can tackle the ‘I do what I want’s later on down the line when I know the uproar won’t spoil anything.”

“And it doesn’t hurt that you’re worried that she doesn’t feel the same either.” Clint peered over the rim of his cup at him rather pointedly, settling back in his chair.

“No, I suppose it doesn’t hurt. Doesn’t help either.” He grimaced right back. “But this? All this is beside the point. So let’s get back to the travel arrangements for your _friend_ , shall we?”

“God, sometimes you’re an asshole even when you’re being sweet.”

“I know. It’s a gift.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I had a request for such, I'm going to explain a little why Tony's soulmarks are what they are! Mind, for those who missed the chapter a while back with the drawings, this might be a tad confusing, but I'll do what I can. I'm only going to explain revealed ones, by the way.
> 
> So, to start, Rhodey. This one is all about placement, yes, it's pink hearts, but that it's on his ass, and Tony's, is a love letter to their friendship and the fact that no matter what, they're sticking together because that's just how they are.
> 
> Bucky's, the flame, is something of an echo of the Star (in placement) and a nod to the fact that he's known as a ghost by the flame being white and red rather than more conventional colors. Added to this is that placement, on Bucky, implies a definite intimacy and NOTICE ME from Tony's side of things because there's no missing it.
> 
> Bruce's is simple. It's an energy burst. I mean, that's perfect to define Tony and Bruce, isn't it?
> 
> Clint is feathers because first, that's very much a Hawkeye nod, but also because of the _way_ they're situated, like a single feather drifting to land, really does mirror how they met.
> 
> Hammer? Placement placement placement. Also, it's green, it's one that TOny finds less than attractive while Hammer finds it awesome. I mean, that's them in a nutshell.
> 
> Pepper's is three circles because three points equals stability.
> 
> And JARVIS being chainmail... I figure that one is self-explanatory. 
> 
> Yes, I didn't explain the notes or the snowflake, but explaining why I picked them would explain who they belong to and I'm not doing that just yet.


	43. Patience

They were adorable. Tony knew perfectly well that Clint wouldn’t agree with the sentiment if he knew it was being leveled at him, but really, there was no other word for it. They were sickeningly cute in a way that the omega knew that even he and James hadn’t managed to reach, and they, at the very least, had the buffer of calling soulmate if anyone tried to call them out on it. Clint and Laura had no such thing.

Of course, it didn’t hurt that Laura was, in fact, an amazing person in her own right, entirely removed from Clint. Still, the young beta, not that she was all _that_ much younger than him, just sort of grew on a person, settling into their attention and drawing their focus around her. It was a magnificent gift and one that Tony knew that he himself had, though his own tended to get him into trouble whereas hers seemed to be getting her _out_ of it. Though, maybe that was part of it too when all was said and done. Regardless of all of these facts, or maybe even because of them, the two of them had quickly become friends.

Pepper was incredulous but thoughtful, and Clint, well. Clint _pouted_ about it every time Laura turned her gaze on someone who wasn’t him while he was home, regardless of the reason for that regard shift. Which, of course, brought it all right back around to the cute thing, and the fact that the beta was a magnificent cook, which was something that she and James had to work to between them given that the two seemed to be having a bit of a... turf war. 

At last check, James had control of where everything went, while Laura had control of what got bought. Tony really had no idea what that meant in a practical sense though, as any time he asked he was just told that no, he didn’t need to order in, dinner was planned _thank you_ and it really didn’t matter which one he aimed it at either. Not that he didn’t love their cooking, either one, but... well... He missed pizza. He missed pizza very very much.

Which was how they got back to _why_ he was thinking about how adorable the two were. James was away on one of his littlest soulmate expeditions, and Tony had managed to get a word in edgewise a couple hours previously about his sadness on the pizza front. This had not, as he’d somewhat optimistically hoped, led to an opportunity to support some poor student driver, and had, instead, turned into the hilarity of watching Clint darting around the kitchen, doing his level best to keep up with Laura’s demands as she directed him here and there, all the while being _quite_ insistent that they should have enough pizza for guests.

Which was fair, because Happy had already turned up, as had Pepper at the mention of homemade pizza, and Tony only imagined that other bits of the household would turn up out of the woodwork for some of the meal given half a chance. After all, Happy had had Laura’s cooking before, and Pepper had actually _helped_ once when the beta was making bread, on the claim that it helped her ‘work out her frustrations’. Given that Pepper’s job was managing _his_ life, Tony had, understandably, been a bit justifiably alarmed by her ferocity. He had absolutely no desire for that kind of punching to come his way, thank you very much.

Still, this day was not that day, and while the pizza dough had needed some attention, they’d moved past that. Mostly. Clint’s current status as a badly made up ghost due to the bottom of the flour bag giving out as he took it from the cupboard said that the beta was stuck at this stage until a shower could be had. And, even better, the mishap had given Tony ample excuse to stay well away from the cooking area, because really, he didn’t want to get in the way of such _experts_.

Such a declaration had led to threats from Clint that he’d eat Tony’s portion, only for Laura to swat him with her spoon before sticking it in the sauce. Thus, all was well in Tony’s universe. The couple, though they hadn’t declared anything, were being cute, they were making him dinner, and he had a nice collection of family near enough to poke at.

He really, truly shouldn’t go forgetting that they could poke back though, and it was Laura, with her infinite wisdom and worryingly perceptive eyes that decided to drag her bystanders into the conversation.

It seemed that being near the cooking area was enough to make someone a target.

“So, Tony, Pepper. I know that James has been dating both of you, but I’m really curious why you two keep avoiding dating each other.” She looked over her shoulder, then moved to start on something, onions maybe? Either way, it kept her hands busy and her gaze focused away from them, which was good, as he could see Pepper turning a little pink out of the corner of his eye.

“I know I’ve explained this in your hearing before Laura. Hell, I know I’ve explained it more times than there’s any reason to explain it.” Hunkering down in his seat, the omega almost grumbled the words, earning a commiserative pat on the back from Happy.

“Oh, we’ve all heard _your_ reasons Tony, but I wasn’t really talking to you this time. I _am_ curious why you weren’t curious though. I mean, so far as I know you two never actually talked about it?” Again there was a short glance before the beta moved to another section of counter, effectively silencing Tony.

When all eyes turned to Pepper, it was beyond clear that she’d been dodging answering this for a while, which only highlighted the fact that no, she really had never said anything one way or another after the day they met. Sure, Tony had flirted a bit, and Pepper had been, well, perfect back, but she’d never done anything but be ambiguous about it. Which was fine, it worked, or would if everyone had stopped poking at it for two seconds. Still, as the silence drew out and the beta got more flushed, Tony wondered.

“Yes, okay. Okay, I’ll talk to Tony so all of you, please, just stop staring at me.” Pepper shot a stern look from person to person, though her gaze softened a bit when it landed back on Tony. “Right. My reasons _are_ your reasons Tony.”

“Oh. So you agree that it’s responsible to do it this way for now...?” He trailed off, confused at her shaking her head, and he didn’t protest in the least when she reached out and took his hand.

“No. Tony. Your _reasons_ are my reasons. You have reasons. You want to hold it off and not do it right now, and I decided to not make it harder on you. I do love you, and you know that, just like I know you love me. We figured that out pretty quickly I think, but that doesn’t mean you’re ready to make it something else just yet, right? So, for now, until you’re ready to stop telling everyone your reasons not to, I’ll wait, and I’ll get to know the other love of your life, as well as the amazing family that I’m part of because of you, okay?”

Tony opened his mouth, then closed it, before he laced their fingers tightly together and squeezed, feeling a little lost, but happy, in a kind of bubbly, unexpected way. The pressure was off, just like that, as he held her gorgeous gaze and just listened to the sheer sincerity of her words. When he spoke, his tone was just a little rough from the unexpected upswing of emotion. “So basically, you’re waiting for me to come around because you’re already there.”

Pepper quirked her lips, giving a small nod, never breaking eye contact. “Basically.”

Whatever the omega planned to say to that, what came out of his mouth definitely wasn’t it. Which made him realize that maybe her way was the right way for them after all. “So maybe tomorrow.”

She flashed him a small, knowing smile. “Tomorrow would be fine Tony.”

Nodding once, sharply, Tony ripped his gaze away from her and looked at their audience of three, waving his other hand through the air. “What are you all staring at? Aren’t you making pizza? And you, Clint, is that pan smoking?”

When the blond cursed and whipped around to salvage whatever he’d been fussing at on the stove, the heavy mood was broken.

But that was fine, because today, he was getting _pizza_.

And maybe tomorrow, a date.


	44. Searches

Tony, sitting out on his beach on an absolutely magnificent day, found himself having a conundrum. Now, this had nothing to do with the beach, nor with the lovely day, but rather to do with the company and lack thereof that happened to be sharing it with him. 

James was away searching again. 

Now, Tony didn’t actually begrudge the alpha their search, not really. In fact, he _understood_. Given that he himself had spent years hunting _them_ down with little to no success he felt he had a particularly interesting perspective on the matter. That didn’t mean, however, that it hadn’t been years, and that as time flew, that the chances of those leads taking them anywhere useful would actually increase. No, the honest, glaring fact of the matter was simple, if painful, and it was that littlest soulmate wasn’t theirs to find. Once, he would have disagreed with this wholeheartedly, but that time had gone, and he saw now the same worn, tattered edges in his lover as he’d seen in himself before the alpha had finally come _home_.

The thing about that situation, however, that he could not, _should_ not, forget was that he never found James. James had come home, and Tony had actually had very little to do with the matter at all. No, all Tony had been able to do was follow leads that went nowhere while waiting, and it had been only when he set aside the search to start living again that his lost alpha found their way home.

If two people were searching, they would constantly miss one another. Wasn’t that what children were told? ‘If you lose me, find somewhere safe and wait there for me to come find you’? He suspected that this situation was no different, and given the circumstances, that perhaps the soulmate in question was searching as well. After all, when it came down to it, the one in the safe place wasn’t littlest soulmate. No, just as it had been with James, the one searching on this end should maybe hold still and let themselves be found instead, to be a little traceable so that the other half of the search wouldn’t have to keep covering their own tracks again to see if they’d been retread.

He could talk to James about any of this, all of it even, but he had the suspicion that while the alpha would listen, ze wouldn’t exactly be willing to stop, not entirely. Which was fine, really, but Tony was worried. The young child had to have started into being a teenager by now, growing well away from them and possibly not even remembering. The world was big, and any group that could keep one person hidden was very likely able to hide another. That was just a simple truth of things. 

Tony let out an aggravated sigh and dropped back on his towel, tipping his face up to the sun and hearing a soft chuckle from his left because of it. He swatted without looking. “Rude, cupcake.” The grumble was halfhearted at best, and he let the presence of his longest-standing soulmate draw him out of his circular thoughts. He knew himself, he would have been at it for far, far too long.

“Nuh-uh, I’m allowed to laugh. I’ve been watching you glare at the ocean for a good half hour you know, and that’s the first time you moved in all that time. I was starting to think I’d have to turn you myself to make sure that you didn’t manage to get yourself a sunburn.” When Rhodey reached out, lightly prodding a paler slice of skin, Tony promptly whined at him and smacked at his fingers. So rude. “Hey, don’t fuss at me, you sunburn _way_ easier than I do snicker doodle.”

“I am not _that_ pale.” When he caught the look on Rhodey’s face, he groaned and threw his arm across his eyes. “I’m _not_. Not everyone is blessed with a sun-kissed wonder of a complexion that nearly never burns.”

“True. The rest of this household is made out of combustible material compared to me...” The laugh was clear in the alpha’s voice, and he rested his hand on Tony’s chest, instantly cooling a handprint of skin through the expediency of blocking the sun. “But really, whose fault is _that_? Not mine. I just picked you. You picked the rest of this crowd of pink asses.”

“You say that like having a pink ass is somehow a problem?” Tony flashed him a smirk as he moved his arm enough to peek past it, very pleased with the chance to jump on that one. 

“Totally different context. I doubt anyone here wants it to be sun-inflicted, no matter what their proclivity is. And I know _you_ aren’t into getting spanked. Typically at least. Or has that been changing for your dear darling Bucky boo?” Tony could feel the shadow as Rhodey leaned over him, clearly amused as he took in the expression that Tony just knew he had to be making. After all, Tony was always willing to try something at least once, sometimes more if he was on the fence about it. “Ohhhh, so not changing for _them_ but _someone_. Hmm, Pepper then. _Nice_. I’m glad she’s been good for you.”

Tony shoved him back enough he could sit up and huffed, face pink for a reason that had nothing to do with the sun. “Oh, shut up. Just because you’re a switch doesn’t mean you get to pick on us folks who actually need a little self-care.” He was quiet for a moment, drawing up a knee to rest his chin on it as he considered how to frame this. Proclivities were still something that many in the psychiatry field were trying to get laws in place for, after all, and while Tony tossed money at foundations where he could, it only helped so much. It also didn’t make ways to talk about it come any quicker. “Besides, just because I’m a dominant doesn’t mean I can’t give up control. It just means I have to make sure I have my own turn in charge with someone every now and again, and James is perfectly okay with being that someone for me these days. Pepper’s... Well, she’s a hungrier dominant than I am, you know? She needs attention more often, and I think that’s why she decided to be a PA. Control through serving and all that, you know?”

“Whereas you usually settle your instincts by flinging your weight around at the company. Yeah, I get you.” The alpha wrapped his arm around Tony’s shoulders, pulling him against his side and off balance. “But I know that bedroom antics weren’t what had you making me wonder what the ocean had done to you lately.”

“Nah, that was littlest soulmate. James has been searching a long time, you know? I worry about them.”

“I recall a certain someone doing something similar for a ridiculously long time and forgetting to call often enough while he did. I think James might have one up on that certain someone.”

Tony huffed at the pointed comment, nudging in with his shoulder and shaking his head. “It’s different. Not the search, but it’s been longer, to say nothing of the fact of the ages involved...” He trailed off with a grimace. “I really think I should ask him to call off the search. It’s tapered off, but the leads are pretty damn tenuous these days, you know? On the other hand, littlest soulmate, who I realized a few minutes ago I should probably find another nickname for.”

Rhodey raised his eyebrows at that one, as he knew just how stubborn Tony could be about nicknames once one stuck. “We’ll come back to the search bit, but a nickname change? Really? That’s not like you.”

“Sure it is snow pea, I change yours all the time.”

“No, you change your affectionates, not your nickname. So, what’s up? It’s not like anyone younger has popped up in the group.”

“You’re right that they haven’t... but what if they do? I got a new soulmark last year, you know that. I mean, right now they’re just a tiny little baby. How can I go calling James’ the littlest when I know there’s a much newer and younger one out there now?”

“Maybe the bit where you haven’t had anyone, let alone yourself, meet said tiny baby?”

“I thought of that, but, well, I seem to have met quite a lot of you. I suspect I’ll meet them too, eventually.”

“Oh, probably. You have _way_ too many soulmates already met for the odds to not be in your favor.”

“Yeah, that, exactly. So, littlest soulmate.”

Rhodey fell quiet, humming low in his chest. “How about you switch over to little lizard then? The mark looks almost like scales on James and they’re certainly hard enough to catch.”

Tony snorted a breath, shaking his head. “Little lizard. Loses one tail and grows another? Yeah, alright, we can do that.”

“Perfect! Now, if you’ll excuse me.” Rhodey moved without any further warning, scooping Tony up and heading for the water. “It’s far too nice of a day to waste sitting on the beach.”

“Hey! We were having a moment! Put me down! Rhodey!!”

The only answer Tony got was a short flight as Rhodey tossed him in and followed immediately after, setting off a rather intense splashing war.

The _ass_.


	45. Glimmers

“...and Jane’s finally gotten her first classes worked out instead of just doing lectures for the various professors and sticking to lab work. From what I can see, she’s not exactly sold. One student, she’d probably be fine with, but apparently, the notion of steering the course for a greater number than that is, ah, unpleasant? She promised to cover the gap this semester until they found another person, or it grew on her, and so far it’s up in the air if she’s going to buckle down in stubbornness or escape at the first opportunity.”

Tony snorted softly, tilting his head so he could see the clock off to his left. Half an hour and not once had Bruce mentioned his current project, which was both fascinating and worrying as hell as far as Tony was concerned. No news was never good news when one of your soulmates was doing genetic research involving _radiation_. Still, instead of addressing _that_ little niggle, Tony had dropped leading questions to get Bruce to glowingly fill him in on everything his two local soulmates were up to. So far they’d gone over Betty’s new favorite shoes, the restaurant that they’d all been to, as a group and in a date like pair, or double date where Jane was concerned. Tony had heard _at length_ about Betty’s father and how _wonderful_ the man was, with all due sarcasm mind, and the sheer overwhelming _expectations_ that seemed to come with the alpha.

On the one hand, the poor alpha needed to let go and allow his child to go off and have a life of her own. On the other hand, Bruce was _family_ now and the military hawk could serve to remember that truth. When Tony asked _why_ the elder Ross was in Bruce’s face, the beta told him that it was about _resources_ of all things. Which had confused Tony horribly until he’d been informed that no, their connection had not been revealed as he didn’t want to lean on Tony’s assets to win the grizzly jerk over. Even if it _would_ have made Bruce’s life dramatically easier.

Stupid, stubborn, brilliant soulmate, really. Tony had let his sigh talk for him on that one. Now, they’d _finally_ moved on from the Ross parent/child pair and he found himself realizing that he was very likely not going to be able to make this one of their longer calls. In fact, he was kind of surprised Pepper hadn’t already torn through to drag him off to the board meeting yet, complete with fussing over the rumple in his suit from his upside down and slightly sideways position sprawled over the couch. 

“My vote is on stubborn. Of course, given her specialization, she just has to find a way to pelt that at her students and the ones who don’t think it’s ‘real science’ will flee in droves. Two birds, one stone. She doesn’t have to escape because the students will do the escaping _for_ her. Well, except for the really devoted and the really desperate. Which, as you well know, is practically the same thing once you get to college.”

There was a discernible pause from Bruce’s end at that, which Tony decided was a victory. It didn’t last long. “The worst part about what you just said is that I can see it very easily. You spend less time with her than I do, how can you possibly know her better than I do? You do this every time, which, I’ll remind you, is why I no longer make bets about Jane’s career choices.”

“I thought you liked what I picked to do on your vacation days.” Seeing movement out of the corner of his eye, Tony worked on getting upright, noting it was the long-delayed Pepper. Though, he was only five minutes late, so he didn’t think it was _too_ bad yet. “Are you trying to say you didn’t like me picking out your vacations?”

“Tony, I love you, but if the next time I go skydiving is never, I’ll be a very happy man.”

“You have no sense of adventure.” Pepper was at the door, a small frown on her face which said she wasn’t _too_ upset just yet, but she also hadn’t gotten a look at him yet. A quick glance down at himself said he was by no means presentable at the moment. Dressed, yes, impressive, no. 

“I have _all_ of the sense of adventure. I just don’t have _your_ sense of adventure.” 

“Which is your problem right- Pepper! Hi. You’re looking really nice today.”

Even as Pepper’s eyes moved over his outfit, noting every wrinkle and smudge, Tony heard another, longer pause from Bruce’s end of the line. “Tony, are you supposed to be somewhere else right now?”

“Yes, he is, and he’s already late.” Giving her a beautiful smile wasn’t enough to stop the scowl that accompanied the words, and he quickly headed toward the bedroom to fetch himself a fresh outfit when she jabbed her finger that direction.

The amazing part about JARVIS’ current setup was that he could follow Tony with calls now. Which he had shown off like mad at the first opportunity, though that had been a while ago. “What Pepper means to say is that I apparently have a board meeting and I’m a little workshop rumpled at the moment. My hands and face are clean! Once I change into something new I’ll be good to go, and only a little late too. You know how close we live to the office out here.”

“You mean the half-hour commute on a day with clear weather and no traffic? What time is this thing?”

“Ah... five minutes ago? Don’t worry, the people the board meeting is for won’t be on the line for at least another forty minutes. All the hubbub beforehand is just last minute panicking from the board, really. Who needs to listen to that?”

“One of these days, Pepper is going to beat you to death with a shoe, and all I’ll be able to say about it is that you had it coming.”

Tony huffed, stripping the moment he was in the room, setting his cufflinks aside to put away later and heading for his closet. “I’m not that bad Brucie, don’t be like that.”

“You are, otherwise this call wouldn’t have been interrupted by Pepper in the first place.”

“That’s low. I miss you you know.”

Tony’s tone had been light, but clearly, Bruce picked up something that he hadn’t intended to share because his own was more serious. “I know you do, and I’ll come visit when I can. This project is just really close to a breakthrough, I can feel it.”

“Your super secret military project is more important than a home visit. Believe it or not, I get that and I _agree_. If you guys can get this to work it’ll help a lot of people. That’s why you’re in your field, right?”

“Do you even know what I’m doing? I thought I’d made sure to avoid disclosing details...?”

“You did, and I haven’t gone digging. But you like to help people Bruce, so I figure whatever this is, it’s meant to make life better for someone.”

“Sometimes, you’re incredibly sappy Tony. Thank you.” 

He didn’t try to stop his grin, well, until Pepper appeared in the doorway, clearly intent on helping him dress because he was _taking too long_. “You’re welcome, it’s one of my charms. Talk to you soon?”

“Talk to you soon.” 

There was a click, and then Tony hurried up with the dressing because Pepper was _definitely_ getting that look in her eye, and she always picked the pointy cufflinks when she was irritated, which were, as noted, pointy. And impossible to fidget with without jabbing himself, which was terrible for a board meeting pretty much always. 

Still, his mind was only half there, because he really was curious, and he really did miss Bruce, but he could, and would, be patient.

He’d find out what was up eventually.


	46. The Call

When the call came, it was Jane on the line. In the normal scheme of things, of course, this wouldn’t have been remotely alarming because she did, in fact, interact with the other members of their family on a decently regular basis. Admittedly, however, that was mostly long distance. 

Unfortunately, it was not the normal scheme of things. To put it bluntly, things were so far from the normal scheme of things that it took a solid five minutes of talking Jane through what could only be called a _panic attack_ before Tony could get her coherent enough to do more than make his instincts flare up protectively. It was a situation he knew a little too well, and damn if he didn’t wish that he could tell the things to stand down because he just _knew_ this would be James all over again until he could make his everything settle its shit. Which wouldn’t happen until all known and interacted with soulmates had been checked in with and ensured the health of.

Shit. 

Remembering all at once that Rhodey was very out of contact as of the night before only made him inwardly flail harder because no, he could not _actually_ just start flinging out calls and have a nice, calming balm put to his damn instincts. No, this was going to drag out and get embarrassing, he could feel it in his bones. But that was for later. Right now, there was another omega from his family on the line, who had finally moved from single word sentences, which had been alarming enough, given they’d been sentences like ‘army’ ‘Bruce’ ‘green’ and ‘terrifying’ to something a bit more verbose but still less than reassuring.

“Okay, okay. Jane. Beautiful wonderful Jane. I’m appreciating the hell out of whatever has you upset, I am, but I can’t help if I can’t understand what happened. Can you give that another go around in a slightly more coherent order?” He could hear her drawing in a shaky breath, and had a fleeting moment to wonder where the fuck Betty was with Jane like this. Oh god, she wasn’t dead was she? No, he had to focus. He was being a grounding influence at the moment, though he was, admittedly, waving a hand wildly through the air at JARVIS to get him to bring anyone else on the grounds over ASAP.

Finally, after giving a quavering, short-lived laugh, she answered him. “The army was here. There were explosions, and they were chasing a big green man. The building where Betty and Bruce work was broken open from the inside and everyone was forced to keep away from it because there was some kind of radiation leak and _Tony,_ no one _would tell me anything_.”

Tony let the silence hang for a moment, because of everything she’d just said, the most frightening thing was that she had no information. You couldn’t keep news about a soulmate away from a properly documented and accepted soulmate, not legally. It was why he’d put forth so much effort to block Hammer out of his affairs with his lawyers. He’d _had_ to. And if he _had_ to, he’d damn well leak the documentation that they had for Bruce to the public so that he could damn well find out what happened to his beta. “Jane. Do you have any idea what Bruce and Betty were working on? I know it was something medical, but I could never get Bruce to give me more than that.”

“The radiation was part of their experiments, and they let slip it had to do with a miracle cure of some kind. Cancer, I think? And Betty’s dad was in charge of the project. Army.” Jane’s voice was a little calmer, but still clipped around the edges, sharp and worried, and he didn’t blame her a _bit_.

“A big green man.” Closing his eyes, he tried to piece the information together into a picture that made sense. The military had no real interest in miracle cures that couldn’t be weaponized. He’d worked with them more than long enough to know that, and he also knew that Bruce was brilliant, if a little too on the idealistic side. He never asked the right questions, never got suspicious as long as his projects were aimed in the correct direction. He wouldn’t have been able to tell if one wasn’t, and god only knew what hid under the surface when the military came calling on civilian scientists who didn’t know better. “And radiation you say? Bruce’s field was focused on Gamma. Is that what we’re looking at here?”

More subdued this time, Jane’s voice was much quieter. “Yeah. The guy took Betty with him. I think- There was light blue on his belly. It was the only part of him that wasn’t green, but I couldn’t get close enough to see any better because of the military men. He looked my way though, and only a tank and him having Betty in his hands kept him going another direction.”

Tony let the silence draw out for a moment, letting out a rough breath as Clint and James both made their way into the room he was standing in. He must have looked particularly rough because neither hesitated to come over to him, Clint leaning on his side even as James hugged him from behind. “You think the big green guy was Bruce.”

“It would make sense if it was. He wasn’t very... calm though, whoever he was. He was kind of throwing vehicles at the army.”

“Given how freaked out you sounded I suspect there was a whole lot more to it than that.”

“Okay, yes. The army was also using heavy artillery in the middle of the campus.” 

Tony closed his eyes, feeling the grip on him from behind tighten even as Clint squeezed his arm and hurried off to, probably, start making calls to the rest of the family. “The army was trying to kill someone who was probably Bruce and he was less than thrilled about it while being big and green.” He knew he sounded a little faint, but his mind was already spinning ahead, looking at ways he’d need to sort this out, to _fix_ the situation to ensure Bruce was safe.

“That’s what I think, yes. I’m worried. Scared too, but more worried now that you calmed me down.”

“Fair enough. I’ll be there in a couple hours with as many reinforcements as are nearby. We’ll figure it out, and we’ll make sure Bruce and Betty are safe, alright?”

“I trust you, Tony. See you soon?”

“Soon. Prepare to be linked to the Stark family, because we’re going to need the leverage.”

There was a moment of silence, then a sigh, but she clearly understood. “Needs must. I’ll find out what else I can before you get here.”

“Perfect.” When the call clicked off, Tony dumped the phone in his pocket without a second thought, pivoting in place to hug James back.

He should have known things had been calm for too long, really. Back into the breach and all that.

And heaven help everyone involved if Bruce really was Mr. Big Green and Hunted because he was not going to put up with _any_ of _that_ bullshit on his watch.

Nobody got away with harming his soulmates, let alone _hunting_ them. Not on his watch.

Not ever.


	47. Fall Out

It was a media shit show. And by shit show, Tony meant that someone _leaked about more than just Bruce_. 

See, the thing about soulmates was that while the two involved parties always knew, those around them had to be told. Sometimes, almost perfect looking similar marks were a mismatch, though there were the few rare cases where someone had pulled a fast one in some way on that alone. Such a thing was nearly impossible, at least it was so long as both members of a bond were fully cognizant.

Tony, being the smart guy he was, had arranged all his paperwork, but had it locked down in legal, had made sure that all his people, and _their_ people, were accounted for in case something ever happened.

Unfortunately, that also, this time, _became_ what happened.

His plan to leak about Bruce, and only Bruce, discreetly but with timely effort, rather ended up like the results someone would get should they poke a hole in a waterbed that’s full to capacity. Word got out, and now everyone was under fire. Pepper was getting the worst of it, unfortunately, her position at Tony’s side suddenly being questioned by all comers, and speculation was high about how soon it would be before Tony retired to be ‘a proper omega’ from the more traditional corners of the media. People wanted to know who Tony’s mystery James Barnes was, and if the man had any relation to _the_ James Barnes, and of course, everyone wanted to know about the elusive people who were just names on paper but the media had never properly gotten a look at.

It was, all in all, _not_ how Tony had planned for things to go, and added stress that he _really_ could have done without while he was already trying to neutralize _one_ emergency. Suffice to say, Pepper had been rather aggressive as she ripped through Legal in her attempt to find out who fucked things up. Tony figured that if she didn’t find her victim to be there within the next day, she’d be moving on to the Public Relations department instead. Suffice to say, Tony was content to _not_ get in the middle of that disaster.

Instead, he was digging deep into files to try to figure out what contracts Ross was personally gifted with via Stark Industries so he could effectively _stomp the shit out of him_ and stop him from being a _complete dick_ as things were. That, and Tony had been on pins and needles for about three days now, switching between files to do with the company, and those to do with Ross’ private projects for the military. He was not pleased about what he’d found, in either case, but he could, and _would_ , work with it. He needed this solved _yesterday_.

He was worried about Bruce. Especially given that Betty had confirmed that yes, big and green _had_ been the other scientist. That would have been great news if he’d gotten it without Betty’s follow up that he’d _run the fuck away_. Still, there was a silver lining, and Tony had gotten to see Betty tearing into her dad on camera. Apparently, she’d never told the man that Bruce was _hers_ the way only a soulmate ever could be, and screaming at him about it at high volume had been exactly the catharsis to all of Ross’ high handed bullshit in the beta’s general that Betty had needed. Tony couldn’t say he hadn’t appreciated the moment of levity watching that footage had given him.

Sadly, it hadn’t lasted, as it was just an hour after that when the news had broken and _all_ of Tony’s soulmates had been leaked rather than just the one, which had, admittedly, set Tony into something of a paranoid tailspin. 

Which is how he came to be here, remote in hand as he stared at the television across the room, as he had to recalculate just about every plan of attack that had been pieced together in the back of his mind because _what the shit_ was this _fuckery_? 

The Hammer Scandal, previously just speculation, on one channel, Pepper and his respective positions on another, commentary about the Stark Stock situation on yet _another_ , and somehow, some _way_ , Bruce had flown entirely under the radar in the chaos. Yes, the big green man was mentioned on a couple news stations, replaying the old footage from the initial disaster, but other than that, it was all strangely quiet on that front. There was no real mention of him in the soulmate scandals and speculation, the whole military mess about him being big and green was oddly downplayed, and he was being incredibly hard to track.

Though, if Tony were even remotely fair to himself, he’d had to start from scratch trying to find a way to piggyback on localized signals based around Bruce’s situation, especially when the trackers used initially started showing a scattering of false leads.

But Tony wasn’t in the habit of being fair to himself when his soulmates were in danger.

Which might explain why the remote, formerly in Tony’s hand, ended up wrecking the TV screen with a worryingly loud electric buzz when Tony’s attempt to clear his head with the news before going back to work simply backfired _spectacularly_.

All in all, it could have been going better.

But it also could have been going worse.


	48. Surprise, Don't Care

It was another three weeks before Tony caught up to Bruce. During that time, several things had become glaringly obvious. First of all, he and _Ross_ were going to have a very long, very pointed, conversation about for what purposes his weaponry was used. The weapons had been sold to his department for the defense of Americans, not the _enslavement_ of anyone, and he was rather irked when one of the calls in the morass of fuckery that was his mate names being released was a petition for something to _better take down said mate_.

It was probably for the best that Pepper had intercepted that particular call and contract offer. His own reaction probably would have been disproportionately furious. 

In that same vein, however, he’d learned that Ross was nothing if not determined, because every time Tony thought he might have caught up to Bruce, he arrived at the location of a signal just to find military containment teams there first. If he didn’t know better, he’d think he was being followed. Unfortunately, he did know better and was just aware that he clearly just needed a _faster jet_. After all, there was military all over the world that could be moved out and he was just one guy. 

However, it was during these jaunts that point the next came to his attention. He’d been aware, as he always had, that the military had nicknames. He was even peripherally alert to the fact that Stark Industries as a whole was considered an Iron God, in spite of Rhodey’s efforts to keep that particular nickname from floating back to him. He’d found out via Hammer of all people, who had been complaining during one of their infrequent interactions about being called an Iron Cockroach, which nobody had apparently taken any pains to hide from him at all. Still, it wasn’t until this unbuffered interaction with Army fellows that he finally grasped that they were calling _him_ that rather than the company. While flattering, as he knew damn well that it was a compliment, it also made him wonder. What was he doing so differently that landed him with so much of a better title than his weapon maker contemporaries, really? 

He promised himself to look into it, if only to satisfy his own curiosity.

Sadly, not all the points that had been obvious to him were things that needed to go on his to-do list for the company. One of them was wholly personal, if not a bit depressing. Bruce never called him. On the one hand, maybe he wasn’t able to, that was possible, but Tony was a realist. Bruce hadn’t called, and if he was capable, that was a whole snarl of things that were no small amount of worrying. But what could he do, really, other than what he was already doing?

So he went from place to place, slowed down by having to check in with the various governments at the myriad of airports he’d seen in this little world hopping spree. Upside? Yay contacts! Downside? Wow, a lot of people out there _really_ didn’t like him. Which he’d known objectively, but it was still a bit jarring to really get a look at the faces full of hostility in the places the American Military had been as he made his way toward wherever Bruce had been last. It wasn’t all like that of course, but there was always a few outliers in every place like that, which was far from comfortable to Tony’s worldview.

It had never occurred to him that his name, his _brand_ being on the weapons he sent out would ever be taken _personally_ before this. After all, most of his interaction in these countries hadn’t been with the people any conflicts might have revolved around. It had been among the scientists, the rich folks, the carefully defended enclaves of the American people. It was enough to make him want to step up the non-weapon parts of the company, to find a way to soothe the hostility in these quarters, because clearly just being on board with a few of the charitable companies giving aid in the wake of wars was _not_ enough.

Still, that wasn’t why he was _going_ to those places, none of it, even if it _had_ been a startling eye opener. 

He was there for Bruce, and he honestly considered it a miracle when his most recent jaunt through a forest didn’t come out to yet another village or town with Army folks crawling all over it. It did make him wary too though, because there was no big green fella anywhere, just people, plain old people, and that meant that Bruce had, in fact, had the option to contact him. He didn’t turn around and go home though. This month had been beyond a disaster and he refused to just _give up_ when he was this close to checking on his panicking soulmate. 

He wasn’t alone, no, but the other two had gotten hung up in customs, so Tony had hurried ahead, fully intending to find Bruce before he bolted _again_. And managing it. While also telling Tony that he really needed to learn another language because he really had no idea what the hell the locals were saying. Thankfully, he managed to get by on a hodgepodge of a couple of languages, the non-English ones, that he knew, and it took him off to Bruce. Who looked, well, not _fine_ , but definitely unhurt.

Tony didn’t wait for the man to look up and actually _see_ him before he made a beeline for him, throwing himself at the other scientist in a gesture that nearly had the poor beta jumping out of his skin. For all that, Tony didn’t let _go_ , instead puzzling over the shift in his soulmate’s scent and what it probably _meant_. He was also muttering into his shoulder as he felt cautious hands rest on his shoulders.

“You never call, you never write, and you’re missing the best media storm in _forever_.” If he sounded a little choked, Tony _really_ didn’t give a shit. 

He did give a shit that Bruce was apparently alarmed at his presence though. “Tony? What? How? Why are you here?”

That was enough to get him to lift his head at least, pinning him with a glare. They were in a village in the middle of a forest that wasn’t even close to being in America and Bruce wanted to know _why he was there_? What the _actual fuck_? “Well, you see, Brucie bear, when _one of my soulmates goes missing_ and then _gets chased by the military_ I usually _have an issue with that_.” He gave him a smile that was more teeth than happiness. “Especially when they _don’t call me_.”

Bruce’s eyes went a little wide at the reaction, wary, but he didn’t push him away, instead tightening his hold on Tony enough to settle the omega’s nerves to a degree. “Tony... I couldn’t. You have no idea-”

“Yeah, I do.” He knew there were probably about to be excuses, and frankly, he had no interest in hearing them. “Something happened, and you went through big enough population centers a couple times that there had to be a phone somewhere. But no, no calls. I found out all this was going down from _Jane_. Not you, not even _Betty_ , who I hear you made off with in the initial what the fuck, but _Jane_. If she hadn’t called me, the first person to the table would have been _Ross_ who is on my shit list by the way.” He noticed the flare of color in Bruce’s eyes at the alpha’s name and was _intrigued_ but it didn’t stop his scolding in the least. “And that would have been hellish because I wouldn’t have known one of _my_ people was involved and probably would have actually helped just to get him to shut up and go away and _finding out later would have been mighty upsetting_!”

When he paused to breathe, he noted that Bruce was breathing very carefully himself, and the green hadn’t actually gone away, though it wasn’t sparking anywhere but his eyes. Fascinating was definitely a good work. “You’re in danger being near me right now Tony. It was safer to keep you out of it. I shouldn’t have involved Betty either, but _he_ didn’t exactly give me a choice about that one when he took over.”

“He? Wait. You don’t mean Ross do you?”

Bruce twitched back a little when Tony got up on his toes to look more closely into his face but didn’t move to push Tony away. He gritted his teeth, uneasiness clear in his bearing, but Tony noted that he also seemed to just breathe more deeply too, clearly scenting him as a counterbalance. Bruce had never been much for that behavior, so it was pretty attention-getting. “No. I don’t mean Ross. Tony, there’s... another being in my head now, okay? You need to go. He’s rage and danger and I don’t want you _hurt_ because of me.”

“...So you were working on a variation of the serum. Good to know. I mean, I guessed, but confirmation is always nice. Also? I’m pretty sure your ‘other being’ has already classed me as a non-threat because you’re staring at me with pretty green eyes and don’t look like you’re struggling at all. I’ve seen the footage, said other being is a pretty, but huge, green behemoth right?”

Bruce’s wariness collapsed into a weak sort of bewildered confusion at Tony’s apparently unrelated topic shift, one that didn’t really seem to clear up as he kept talking. “Wait. Tony, what? How did you even...? Even _I_ didn’t realize that and it was my project.” He opened his mouth to say more, then closed it again, clearly hesitant to continue with anything else before that was addressed.

“Ah, right, you’ve been away so much you probably don’t know about that, do you? James. Ze’s got the serum, well, a variation, and you knew that, right?” When he got a wary nod, Tony smiled back. “Well, James is a twofer. I mean, the collective pair is just James, but the older one has finally moved into being alright with being called Bucky since them being James while the whole was James was causing some confusion, and the younger one is Borya. Borya is kind of, uh, not unlike your other half there, if I understand the situation right. Just minus the big and green side effects. So, serum. See?”

“How- What? Tony, why didn’t I know this?”

“You’ve been busy? I mean, it took forever for them to let me in on it, but ze’s gotten better about it. Anyone who’s been home for more than a few days at a time knows now. Still not sure Rhodey does, to be honest, but you know. Military and all that.”

Bruce’s voice was a little weak. “Right. Of course. This isn’t like that Tony. There’s no _sentience_ on the other side of this thing. I’m not safe.”

“Yeah, sure, but no.” Tony raised his eyebrows. “Just come home with me. If you’re dangerous I’ll kick you down to the beach until you cool your jets alright? Just gotta fly home first.” He noted the grimace and rolled his eyes. “I’ll hold your hand until we get there if I have to. You’re staying calm _now_ aren’t you? Even though your eyes are a really pretty green at the moment?”

“Right... But Tony...”

“Nope. Don’t care. You can regale me with your danger senses and stuff later, time to go now though, yeah? The other two probably finally cleared customs so they can catch up and they both move faster than I do. We can intercept them on the way back.”

“Tony, you’re not listening.”

“Nor do I plan to!” Tony’s tone was bright as he pulled back, but his expression was serious. “We’re going home. Now. You being out here alone isn’t _safe_ and I’ll just keep following until you do, you realize that, don’t you?”

Bruce opened his mouth, very clearly about to deny, then hesitated, taking a moment to really examine Tony’s face. After another beat, he obviously remembered who he was talking to. “Yeah, okay. Fine. But I’m taking off the moment I get dangerous. It doesn’t take much now.”

Tony just gave a dismissive scoff and laced the fingers of their hands together as he finally stepped out of the hug, heading back to the edge of the village and towing his errant soulmate behind. 

He doubted the military would be much behind him and his, honestly, and he really didn’t want to be here to greet them.


	49. Leading by Example

“Why didn’t I know about this?” 

The words were enough to make Tony pause in the doorway, his mouth closing as he decided that maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t the day for him to brightly announce himself into the conversation. In fact, he even checked if he was welcome, gaze flitting between Bruce and James before he made his way over to curl against his alpha’s side so he could listen. Neither protested this course of action, which was, honestly, a relief. He suspected he wouldn’t need to say much but he felt better knowing he’d have some idea of where Bruce’s head was at. 

“We spent a long time learning to cover for it. My memories... Even in the ones from before Borya really came into their own, during the war, I knew something wasn’t the way it was supposed to be. There was an echo in my thoughts and I stopped having nightmares, even though I’d gone through things that should have given me _more_. There’s a reason I never told Steve what I suspected had been done to me, and part of it was that I thought it had made me crazy. Now... I can’t imagine not being like this now.”

“That doesn’t sound like my situation. He’s not here to _help_ me with anything the way yours sounds like they were. No, he’s just rage, there to wreck things and hurt people, nothing else.”

“You don’t know that. You’ve only had him a few weeks now, right? I had Borya longer before ze even once tried to communicate with me in any way instead of passively existing. If anything, I would say that your other half is far more developed than mine started. It was desperation that brought them forward, for me, when we let go of who _I_ was in Bucky and focused on survival. When I stopped being so fixated on maintaining who I _was_ and accepted who we _were_ instead.”

There was no denying the expression on Bruce’s face, and Tony glanced to James, noting their frustrated expression before looking back to his beta. Okay, time to maybe jump in, just a little. “Hey, Brucie bear, think of it this way. What they’re saying is that you have an alter ego that’s as brilliant as you are, relatively speaking. Also, you have to admit, having his own body and different sensations probably make something of a difference too. You are most definitely not a big green guy, so who knows what that does to alter the way he views the world?” There was a beat of pause, then Tony frowned as a thought struck him. “ _Is_ he a he?”

For all that Bruce had clearly been gearing up to argue with him, the question was enough to knock him off track. “What?”

“I mean, _you’re_ a he, and he’s a part of you, sure, but does he even have a sense of gender identity? He’s new, right? I mean, by rights we should be using ze, shi, or even it right now, but you’ve been using he. A sense of self like that is a sign of higher thought, as far as I knew.”

“Borya never identified with a gender, though I used to be a he.” James’ voice was quiet, and ze shook their head slightly. “These days I don’t like being a he either, but there’s a distinct difference to it.” Blue eyes turned speculative, and the alpha leaned forward slightly, examining Bruce carefully. “But you’ve never once faltered in using he. Tony kind of has a point about that, and you’re a relatively polite person. If you didn’t think that your other half had something to them, you would have defaulted to _it_ , wouldn’t you?”

“Ah, well, I mean.” He broke off with a grimace, clearly not liking the fact that they both seemed to have a point. “He’s just a _he_ okay? That doesn’t mean he’s not dangerous to everyone here.”

Tony snorted softly. “Yeah, but no. See, I’m here, and I’m one of yours, and while I haven’t gotten a chance to take a look and see if there’s a change in the marks, I know for a _fact_ that Jane spotted _mine_ on big green. My guess is that you guys share a soul, whatever else is true, if that’s an indicator of anything. And you have to admit I riled you up pretty hard before we got you home but you never once flipped over into the big version.”

When Bruce’s only answer was a decidedly unhappy expression, James stepped back in, cool, focused eyes intent on the beta in a way that said that ze would be heard. “Your other self is from you, the same way Bucky and I were once one. I do not think this is a thing shared beyond he and I, existing this way, but we cannot ask the others if they had secret selves that they did not speak of. Steve is gone, as is Red Skull, and there are no others.” James gave a single sharp shake of their head. “It does not matter if your other half is a danger. We will teach him to be safe, for the pack. We are here, and that is a thing we can do.”

Bruce pressed his lips together tightly, dark gaze sliding to Tony, lingering on him for a long, pensive moment before turning back to James. “...Fine. I’ll let you _try_. But!” He held up his hands, seeing that Tony was about to say something. “But. The first time I hurt someone as my, ah, ‘other half’, I’m leaving. I’m not going to risk the family over this. If I’m not safe, I’m _not safe_.”

Tony scrunched up his nose, then huffed sharply. “Intentional harm. If it’s an accident because of things that can’t be helped I refuse to let it count.”

“Tony...”

“No! It won’t count! I didn’t let James get away with that nonsense once their memories started to come back, so why would I let you?” Tony straightened up fully from his curl, scowling at his beta.

Bruce scowled right back but slumped back in his chair in turn. “Fine. _Fine_ , Tony. But if ‘accidents’ keep happening then I reserve the right to change my mind.”

Tony huffed, but nodded anyway, getting to his feet. “Fine. Now that that’s settled, I’ll let you guys commune over your multiple facet selves. Also? Big green could use a name. Get on that, would you?”

“He uh... has one? Betty told me he called himself Hulk, actually. When I turned back.”

Tony paused, blinking a few times before rubbing his face with both hands. “Of course he does. And you tried to say he was just a rage ball. When he can talk. And _did_ talk. Really? No, no, I’m leaving this to James.” 

There was a definite glimmer of amusement on James’ face when Tony turned to them, but he didn’t comment, instead leaning down to drop a kiss on their lips before heading for the door, grumbling all the way. At least Borya had the decency not to laugh at him. He honestly wasn’t sure Bucky would have given him the courtesy if the look on his face was _that_ amusing.

Still, this was good, finding these things out. It meant that Tony had more ammo when he dealt with Ross and his _brilliance_ in the coming days, after all. 

Which, really, he’d need. Especially if the idiotic alpha tried to bring his own weapons onto his property like he did back at Culver.

After all, _here_ Tony had the home turf advantage, and anyone with a brain knew you didn’t give that to a Stark. Ever.

Then again... nobody had accused Ross of having a brain, now had they?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had some people question how I'm handling Bucky, and I'm just going to say that I have always intended this to be part of how the character is handled for this story. It's something of a pet theory of mine, actually. I looked at the Hulk movie a while back and went 'if one person ended up like that, why not more?' since the Hulk's big nemesis didn't end up with a split personality even _with_ a body change, it made me wonder if the reverse might not be true. So, we get Bucky and his muddle of mental issues compounded by being two of him crammed in there, which is not, as some of you might suspect, a clean Winter Soldier/Bucky split by _any_ means. They were both around, and both lived that time. 
> 
> I just wanted to clarify that as it's very likely that this won't be explained further than this chapter went into, due to the story being from Tony's perspective, which means that he loves James no matter which side of them is out so he doesn't really give it much thought.


	50. Powerplay

There were a lot of ways Tony could have handled the situation as the chaos started to die down. Yes, he could have let it subside quietly, allowing legal to handle everything for him, and that would have been an amazingly convenient method of settling the matter. After all, it wasn’t like Betty hadn’t personally dealt with her father in a manner that was more than adequate, emotionally speaking. The alpha knew that at least one person, who he was supposedly close to, disapproved of his methods and the way he’d handled just about everything in the situation. He’d felt a penalty.

Really, if Tony were someone else, that probably would have been enough for him. 

Tony was not someone else. 

Tony was Tony, and that meant that he had to take it a couple steps further, to make sure that the absolute fool knew that he’d stepped into a hornets nest and that he was being given an absolute _gift_ with the fact that Tony hadn’t torn him, and everything that mattered to him, apart with his own brand of influence and care. Simply speaking, he was lucky to still have a career, because Tony might not often wield his influence for private goals, but that didn’t mean he _couldn’t_. A career military alpha who pissed off someone who could call in favors was a liability that was very likely to end up with doors slammed in his face. 

In not making sure that those doors slammed, Tony had been very kind. He’d given the fool another chance to prove that he was family and not a threat, but that chance came with conditions. 

Those conditions were why Tony wasn’t in California at the moment, and instead had a drink in his hand as he settled into a comfortable seat halfway across the country from where he’d been that morning. He hadn’t brought any of his mates, not for this. He knew perfectly well that doing so would be _more_ than a disaster, and the point of this little show of force wasn’t to remind Ross that he had people waiting in the wings. 

It was to remind him that he had _influence_ over people who controlled what those wings were doing.

Still, it seemed like his message was received regardless if the look on the Lieutenant General’s face was any indication. It also seemed that the alpha needed more prompting because he still didn’t look _sorry_ yet. Taking a long, lazy sip off his glass, he decided to open the conversation himself. “You know, I always thought that our working relationship was at least a little cordial.”

“Considering how many contracts we’ve hammered out between the two of us in the past, I thought so too. You’re not about to let this little mess get in the middle of a perfectly decent relationship, are you?”

The words were enough to make Tony still, actively _stunned_ that the alpha in front of him had actually _had the audacity_ to call anything pertaining _his_ soulmate, regardless of circumstance, a _little mess_. He wouldn’t have let that fly if it had been _Hammer_ , let alone one of the ones he actively _liked_. Carefully setting his glass down, Tony turned his whole body to face the idiot currently stomping all over his goodwill and act of kindness. Perhaps, somehow, he’d missed the news? “I’m terribly sorry, but I must have misheard you. Or misunderstood. What, exactly, about this situation strikes you as a, how did you put it? Ah yes, a ‘little mess’. What part of this says _little mess_ to you?”

Obviously picking up that his wording hadn’t been appreciated, the alpha straightened up. He didn’t, however, _take it back_. “This Banner problem. I’m aware of the news that came out, and I’m incredibly sorry that he’s made such a mess of your reputation. I’m just as upset about what happened with my child’s situation as you must be, being attached to a monster like that. Him getting away was... _unanticipated_.”

The longer the alpha talked, the more _angry_ Tony found himself. Unfortunately, he also _understood_ , and that was never a fun combination. Giving the military figure a long, lingering stare, he slowly shook his head. “I think we’ve had a rather unfortunate, and _important,_ misunderstanding here. Did Betty not tell you she’s unhappy with your interference into her soulmate bond? I was under the impression that she had.”

“She did, of course she did, but she’s young, and he was the first of her soulmates that she met. I’m not going to hold her lack of forethought against her. When she calms down, she’ll understand that I’m doing this for _her_. He’s dangerous, and him being free could just lead to more death. She doesn’t need that on her shoulders, so I’ll take care of it. And now that you’re involved, it’s only going to get more important, isn’t it? In your business, it would be too easy for people to point the finger at you and claim that it was one of your projects that got out of hand.” 

Tony felt just the tiniest bit _ill_ over how very earnest the alpha was being. The _idiot_ thought he was doing him a favor and that his displeasure was that he _hadn’t carried through_. Eternally grateful for the stint he took to get some stage training, Tony knew his face was stuck somewhere between blank and _pleasant_ in spite of the edge of shrieking rage curled around his thoughts. “I see. I think, Ross, that I must make a few things clear for you that you seem to have missed. I am not, actually, in favor of human experimentation. I am not my dad, and I don’t think slapping together the next generation of super soldiers is a _good idea_.” He held up his hand when it seemed that the alpha might interject, his head giving a minute shake. “And unlike Betty, Bruce is _not_ the first of my soulmates. In fact, he was rather late to the game, all told, though hardly the most recent of the lot to come to my attention.” 

Ah, and there was the first hints of unease in the alpha’s bearing, the first touch of uncertainty as to what this conversation was _about_. “I hadn’t realized that the two of you had actually _met_ previous to this... situation?”

Smiling brightly, the expression thoroughly false, Tony picked up his drink, swirling it in his fingers. “Oh yes, we’ve been in contact for _years,_ actually. I wouldn’t expect you to keep up with scientist gossip, but there was an event where I jumped out the window about ten years or so ago? That’s when we met. We’re close.”

Watching the color start to drain out of the poor, idiot Lieutenant General’s face was downright _refreshing_. Sadly, the alpha recovered himself, visibly drawing up. “I was unaware. Regardless, he is a danger to the public and must be handled before any further lives can be endangered.”

“See, I think that’s really not your area at this point. After all, from what I hear, you were more of a danger to the public than _he was_ the last couple times you two tangled. Which, I might add, only happened because you were in pursuit, correct?” Taking a sip off his drink, he gave a small shake of his head. “I think that’s enough. You’re military, and I’m aware the project he was working on _was_ for you. Neither of these points mean that _he_ is yours. He is one of _my_ soulmates, and as such falls under my legal jurisdiction first and foremost. As such, he’s both _my_ responsibility and mine to protect, are we clear?”

“Stark, I don’t think you understand what you’re saying here. You don’t have any idea what you’re setting loose on the world.”

“And you do? No, I’m a scientist, and you, my dear, _replaceable_ , military contact, are not even close to being in the same field. You get _one_ chance to fix what you’ve done and make peace with Betty over all this. This is me letting you know that chance has started. You’re the father of one of my soulmates’ soulmates. That matters. It doesn’t matter enough to keep coming after my dear _loved_ Bruce. Got it?”

“Stark-”

Tony raised his eyebrows, leaning forward as he set the barely touched drink down hard enough that the sound cut across the alpha’s words. His tone, on the other hand, remained perfectly pleasant. “Lieutenant General Ross, _do we understand each other_?”

There was a long moment of stretched out silence then, and the alpha looked downright _furious_ for a few more breaths before seeming to collapse in on himself with a look Tony could only describe as grim understanding. He really hoped that this hadn’t just turned into an enemy situation. That could be... unfortunate. “We do. Stark, you better hope this doesn’t turn around and bite you in the ass because I’ll be the first in line to say I told you so.”

That was a little better than what Tony initially thought he might say, even if the man’s tone _was_ terse. Nobody liked losing after all. “Fair enough. Always nice having a drink with a familiar face.” Straightening fully, Tony dropped a hundred on the bar and turned to head for the door. “Until next time.”

He wasn’t terribly surprised when all he got back in answer was irritated silence. 

He also wouldn’t have been surprised to know that the alpha ordered a drink for himself on that hundred as soon as the door shut behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm alive you lot! This should have been out in December but I was stuck about a third of the way into the chapter for _ages_. 
> 
> Regardless, here it is! We're finally in the MCU! The current chapter is late 2003, which means that the story has bridged about thirteen years at this point. As more things start happening, the span of time each chapter touches on _will_ get smaller.


	51. Arrival

It was a warm spring. That wasn’t particularly noteworthy, usually, but Tony had been spending a lot of time zipping from place to place in the wake of the chaos his soul mate news caused the previous year, and he rather thought he could be forgiven for paying attention to the less significant details. He liked to _enjoy_ being home when he was home. 

That the nice weather also meant that everyone was out and enjoying the pool and his private beach a hell of a lot earlier in the year just went to prove that he’d had a brilliant amount of foresight in his planning. Yes, people could swim inside, but he was pretty sure that that was a mechanism of boredom more often than a desperation to swim. Outside though? That’s how pools were supposed to be, to say nothing of the ocean. Of course, Tony was up by the pool rather than down at said beach as he hadn’t had any particular desire to scale down the sheer staircase to get there, nice weather or not. On some days, it was worth the effort, of course it was, but there was a _reason_ he’d invested time and energy in making sure that his house’s structure could support a cliffside pool. 

That reason was so that he could enjoy all the benefits of the beach without the dramatic downsides. Such downsides included sand, salt in one’s eyes, the ocean taking exception to your presence and slapping you against the shore, jellyfish, and the much rarer but not unheard of paparazzi pretending they mistook the private beach for a public one. Thus was why this morning Tony was sprawled out in a chair by his pool, enjoying the warmth and the sun as he listened to James and Pepper talking quietly nearby, with her in full on PA mode and James splashing around in the water as everyone else in the house was off doing other things. Bruce was inside, sure, but Laura had dragged an unsuspecting Happy down to the beach, apparently convinced she could get him into the water to attempt surfing. Tony could have told her it was a lost cause, but he’d decided it would be more amusing to not ruin her fun. It would be good for his friend anyway.

Still, with the way the morning had gone, and the fact that last time he’d bothered to look there hadn’t been a cloud in the sky, the last thing he’d expected was for there to suddenly be a shadow leaning over him. Especially given that the other two were still clearly over at the pool proper. At the very least it was enough to prompt him to open an eye, and he raised his eyebrows at said shadow caster. Sure, he was _unsurprised_ it was Bruce, but he still hadn’t expected to see him emerge for a couple hours yet. Studying his face showed far more seriousness than he really thought a declaration of joining in the pool festivities could even remotely warrant, which was _increasingly_ unfortunate.

“Something up Brucie?” He kept his voice down, knowing that James would hear anyway if he was paying even a little attention, but the small beta hadn’t announced his reason for coming out blatantly in the first place, so he could at least be a little courteous about it. 

“Clint’s home.” If anything, Bruce managed to pitch his voice to be even quieter than Tony had used, though the reason his news should be so secretive was less clear. Clint coming home was, typically, a good thing last he checked. 

Shoving to sit up properly, he raised his eyebrows at his confusing beta. “Okay, so no surprise ‘yay you’re not dead’ party for him this time. He must be okay or you wouldn’t be out here.”

“He’s not hurt, no.” Bruce shifted on his feet, glancing back toward the house for a moment with a small frown before looking back to Tony. “You all need to come inside. Where are Happy and Laura?”

“Beach. Bruce, what’s going on?” By this point the other two were paying attention, and Tony could see that easily enough even if he hadn’t heard James getting out of the water to come investigate personally. 

“He’s not alone Tony. She’s... a little frightening.”

It wasn’t until Bruce shifted on his feet in discomfort that was too blatant to miss that Tony finally _understood_. “She’s riling up your other half. Okay. Okay, I get it. We’ll investigate what’s up and you go get the other two, alright? Use the time to meditate or something.”

Getting a wan smile for his trouble, the beta spun to head off around the house to head for the beach, clearly deciding going through the house just _wasn’t_ the ideal choice at the moment. Once he was out of view, Tony turned his full attention to the other two, getting to his feet as he snagged a towel from nearby to offer to James. He was quick to snag another once it was taken to start drying the alpha’s arm, knowing how much of a pain it could be sometimes.

“Looks like we have a new family member to say hello to. No way Clint would have brought home anyone he didn’t want to have stay. That she riles up Bruce’s protective side might be a tad bit worrying, but we can work through that once we have a better idea what we’re looking at. I mean, Laura’s great.”

The effort James made to dry themselves was admittedly less vigorous than the help ze was getting, and ze went straight for the hair. “Tony, if she’s a threat, maybe you and Pepper should wait out here.”

Tony just snorted at _that_ , giving them a nudge and nodding to where Pepper was already heading for the house. “Yeah, no, that’s clearly not happening. We’re alright James, promise. Clint wouldn’t put the family in danger like that. We’re a pack, and not one of the messed up kinds either.”

The exasperated glance that earned him just made Tony grin, and he outright _laughed_ when his alpha hurried to get ahead of them both to meet the newcomer first. Admittedly, he knew that Happy would be just as bad if he was up here at the moment, but for now, he and Pepper just got to share an amused glance at the protectiveness. It was _cute_ and there was something so _pleasing_ about the fact that his James had come so far that ze’d be comfortable being openly protective like this. When ze’d first come to him, it had been different, and it was a relief that that had changed. Of course, the fact that the alpha in question could move a hell of a lot quicker than either of them probably added to the amusement, because it wasn’t like they’d be able to run ahead of them and throw themselves into danger without their notice. 

Shaking his head, Tony just dumped the towels in the basket specifically for it as they padded through the gym, James already well out of view. “Anything we should know buddy? I know you’re the one that fished Bruce out of his work zen.”

“She appears to be one of Clint’s soulmates and is much younger than you both by at least a few years. Her exact age is difficult to determine as she has been making a concerted effort to avoid being directly in line with any of my cameras.” The reply was fairly prompt, and Tony nodded thoughtfully as he processed the information, making his way down the hall to the area where everyone likely was.

“Anything else before we get there? And I’m assuming they’re in the living room here.”

While Tony had fallen slightly ahead of Pepper, that didn’t mean he still couldn’t easily see her expression when JARVIS didn’t immediately answer his inquiry. It was enough to slow both their steps. Pepper was the one to give him another prod. “JARVIS? Is everything alright?”

“Yes, of course. I apologize for any concern I caused. I was merely surprised. Perhaps you should see for yourselves what shocked me so? It is not negative, I assure you.”

Exchanging a glance, both Pepper and Tony hurried to catch up to James _properly_. With a declaration like that, how could they do anything else?


	52. At Last

When Tony entered the room, there was an odd kind of feeling on the air, some mix of happiness and confusion that was basically wafting off everyone else that had made it there before him. Which was understandable. After all, the fact that James, usually defensive and someone aggressive to people ze hadn’t met before, was murmuring a low croon of Russian while almost rubbing cheeks with the shapely redheaded alpha whose hands ze was holding was _really_ probably not how Clint thought his introduction was going to go. 

At least, Tony was _almost_ sure it was an alpha he was looking at. There was the strange waft of scent that said she had either been using repressors or cover on her scent and while she _looked_ like a quintessential omega, that in no way lined up with the other feedback. Shaking it off and sincerely hoping she didn’t use whatever caused the nose conflict around him again, he circled around to Clint, leaving Pepper in the doorway to stare wide-eyed for the moment at the scene they’d arrived to. After all, Clint’s confusion was rather distinct, and thus was going to be Tony’s first priority given that he’d _brought this one home_.

He’d probably had some sort of expectations. The poor beta. 

“So, not the greeting you’d expected her to give anyone when you got her here I take it?” He made sure to pitch his voice low, his hand coming to rest on Clint’s far hip as he leaned on his closer side, half hugging him as he glanced back to the other two, examining the way they were standing together. The happiness of the two was turning into relief from what he could tell, and the quick back and forth was easing to something quieter. They’d probably be paying attention to everything else again in short order if he was reading it right. 

Clint didn’t let the half hug go unreciprocated, immediately looping his arm around him in kind and giving him a proper squish. “Yeah, not even close. It took some serious convincing to get her to come with me even with the whole, you know, _soulmate_ thing. Then again, she was sort of supposed to kill me, so I kind of understand the hesitation. I caught her though. There was no way I could risk her getting lost in SHIELD so... I brought her here instead. I’ll probably get a serious talking to, Fury isn’t quite as lenient about this kind of stuff as Director Carter was, but I think it’ll be alright.”

“Are _you_ alright?” Tony looked back to him, raising his eyebrows. “That’s why I came over here you know, instead of jumping in and saying hello.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m good, just a little stunned by the turnaround. Her smile is so _pretty_. I didn’t get one of those like ze did. So uh, is she, you think...?”

The answer was from the pair being discussed, James having finally tuned back in to the rest of the family in the room while Tony was busy with Clint, and ze had waved Pepper into the room properly to pull her into the conversation that the two had been having. Introductions, clearly. “She is. Though she tells me that you didn’t know. This is my Natalia.”

“The name she gave me was Natasha.” Clint didn’t quite know how he was supposed to react to that, which was written all over his face. Giving him a squeeze again, Tony turned his attention back to James and their new family member.

Who was talking, her voice low and smoky, but still within the range expected by her appearance. “It is. To come here, to have a new life, I will let go of Natalia and be Natasha. This isn’t going to be a problem, is it?”

Okay, the visual and scent cue confusion was starting to drive Tony up the wall, and he was moving forward even as Clint shook his head, scenting the air to get a _proper_ read because scent scramblers were like a nails on a chalkboard to most, and even more especially to someone as sensitive as he was. “Nah, Natasha’s great. Dad considered naming me that when I was a baby but decided naming me after himself was better. The look on his face when he realized I was an omega after all was actually pretty hilarious. Speaking of, you _are_ an alpha, right? Because whatever you have going on is going to give me a headache if it’s permanent.”

Pepper was nodding her agreement, but both Clint and James looked confused. Which was something _fascinating_ that needed to be tested later, because do scent scramblers not register to soulmates? But that was later, not right now, and he was shamelessly examining the long-lost littlest soulmate. Who had gone and grown up enough that even while tempted to use the nickname, was _probably_ no longer really appropriate. “Ah, yes. All who are from the program I am were to use chemical suppressants and hormonal colognes to come across as omega if they did not manifest naturally.” She indicated herself. “I did not manifest naturally, and the chemicals are still in my system. The mix of scent will be resolved before tomorrow. I do not intend to continue my treatments.”

Tony nodded, curiosity turning to a sort of grim understanding. Even just being told _that_ much made him itch to shove her at Bruce and demand to know if they should expect health problems in the coming months. But, that would first require chilling Bruce out and getting her familiar with the idea. Interestingly, though, she seemed to be perfectly happy answering _his_ questions. Maybe an omega thing? He’d definitely have to ask sometime when they could talk in private. “Fair enough. You know, given how old you were last time my James last saw you, you have a nickname around here. Littlest Soulmate. Congrats and welcome to the family, we’ve been waiting for you. I’m Tony Stark. You’ve been introduced to Pepper?” At her nod, he grinned. “Excellent. Clint’s date buddy and my bodyguard slash good friend who lives here will probably be up with Bruce shortly. How about I show you your room?”

There was a hesitance in the wake of his question, her bright eyes flitting from person to person, but she finally inclined her head toward him, her hand resting on James’ arm briefly before she moved away from them entirely to focus fully on Tony, waiting for him to lead the way. “That would be much appreciated. Perhaps as well you could explain how this pack _works_?”

Definitely an omega thing. Tony was, after all, the only one here, and she had zeroed in on him when he brought himself to her attention. Offering her his arm as he flashed her a bright grin, he nodded a simple affirmative. “Oh yeah, I’d love to. We’ll just leave your soulmates to meet the others so that they’re ready for you when we come back down, sound good?”

When he glanced to the alpha’s soulmates, there was a touch of hesitation in both Clint and James’ frames, but they were nodding all the same. Excellent. Natasha took his check to come up to his side and accept his invitation, and he only veered them off course enough to kiss Pepper on the cheek on his way back out of the room. That done, he started to quietly explain the family he’d taken so much care and determination to build, just so that she wouldn’t end up feeling lost in the day to day. He remembered how James had been, at first, and even if she’d been trained _differently_ it was by degree, not by style. 

That meant that he had to make _absolutely sure_ that she felt welcomed here. And that she knew he was happy that she was here, given her apparent degree of deference to omegas socially at the moment.

Putting that thought aside as something to fix, he instead focused on something far more fabulous. 

His excitement that she was here. 

Excitement should _always_ win over worry, and he wasn’t about to let today be an exception.

She deserved that.


	53. Additions

“I’m pregnant.”

Tony stilled at the quiet words, blinking a few times before turning his head to regard the beta to his left, thoughtful as he took in a deep breath, reflexively looking to confirm her declaration. They hadn’t spent a lot of time together lately, with his most recent business trip, so he really hadn’t had the opportunity to track any change in her hormones. However, regardless of that, now that he was looking for it he could detect a new warmth, almost an overlay to her scent, and there was no stopping the smile that accompanied that realization. Sometimes being the only omega had perks, because by the look on her face she’d been waiting for that confirmation from him. “I’m the first person you told, aren’t I? Whose is it, do you think?”

Laura’s frame relaxed, and she leaned into his side, expression going soft even as she nodded. There was definitely fond humor when she spoke. “Definitely Clint’s. He’s the only one I’ve been sharing my heats with. I mean, I’ve done a bit outside that but, well, he’s my favorite you know.” 

“And you’re both betas too.” If anything, Tony was a bit impressed by that information. Happy had honestly been his first guess. It certainly would have been less of a trial to accomplish at the very least. “That’s lucky. Like, really lucky.”

“I know. But I wanted him to be the father of my first.” She paused, chewing on her lower lip and looking sideways at Tony. “You’re sure this is fine with you? I asked before but...”

“But that was before you were actually pregnant. I’m happy for you, I promise. I _like_ children. Remember, not everyone in the house is sure they even can or _should_ have kids. I mean, I should, obviously, and I kind of _do_ what with JARVIS and the bots, but James? Brucie? _Natasha_? No. The first two have wonky experimenting that makes them worried to do anything that might cause kids without a hell of a lot of precautions, and the latter... she can’t. They fucked her up when she was a kid with their hormone treatments. You remember the way she attacked the gym after Bruce finally confirmed that for her.” 

His words got a grimace, and Laura nodded, clearly remembering that particular explosion of mostly quiet violence particularly well. She’d gone to get the alpha for breakfast and had found part of the gym _disassembled_. Without tools. Suffice to say Tony had been both impressed and worried when he’d gotten home and had been told about that, and the ensuing conversation had resulted in Natasha staying the night curled up in bed with pretty much the whole household as a result.

Still, that wasn’t exactly on topic at the moment. No, he knew why Laura was worried, really, and it had very little to do with who was fertile in the household. “So with all that in mind, you can rest easy that you having this sprog isn’t going to be a problem for anyone. We have a lot of baby friendly people in this family.” 

“They’re not yours though.” And there it was. Tony did have to admire the way she didn’t let him dodge the topic she was trying to bring up, even if it _was_ ridiculous.

“Laura, of course it’s mine. You’re part of my pack aren’t you?” He leaned in, bussing her cheek with his nose, amusement touching his expression for the first time in the conversation, though his happiness at her announcement hadn’t really _dimmed_. “That totally gives me the right to claim any and all children for myself. So I’m not the one giving birth to it, so what? Just because I’m the only omega in the family doesn’t mean I should be, nor _have_ to be the first one, or one at all, going through the pain and struggle of having physical babies. Really, it might even be better I don’t. I can help better when the baby comes around this way since _I_ won’t be exhausted from doing all the hard work.” He waggled his eyebrows at her, but he did sober a bit. “I wasn’t faking you about it being lucky though. I know how much harder it is for a beta to get pregnant than an omega, _especially_ with another beta, and I’ll make sure Bruce knows to keep an eye on you for any complications, alright?”

Her answer was a long, probing stare as though checking to see if he _really_ believed everything he’d just said, and after a moment of that, her shoulders seemed to relax. Her whole body followed the movement a moment later to lean harder into his side as she made herself comfortable, which, admittedly, meant he had just lost his left arm for the foreseeable future, but he legitimately didn’t have any _problem_ with that. “Sometimes, Stark, I have to wonder if you’re _real_.”

Blinking a few times in bafflement, he felt his eyebrows creeping toward his hairline. “And just what do you mean by _that_ , Barton two?”

The laugh his comment inspired got his smile to come fully back, but he waited until she gave him an answer regardless. “You’re so far from the kinds of omegas I knew as a child that you’re ridiculous. You’re in your thirties and I still haven’t heard you talking about having any kids of your own, you’re in business, and _even being the only omega in the pack_ the idea of someone else having babies _instead_ of you doesn’t make you all, well, bitchy. It’s different when there are more omegas in a pack from what I’ve seen, but a lone omega? A _dominant_ lone omega? Usually possessive _bitches_. And, on top of all that, it isn’t because you hate kids that you haven’t had any and you’re offering free newborn babysitting without so much as me asking. If anything, you sound like you want to steal the baby as soon as I have it and give it a cuddle. If all that wasn’t enough, you took me into your home when I have no soul connection to anyone and let me settle into being a housewife without even a bit of a protest even though I’m not _your_ wife. Keeping all that in mind, do you see a little of why I’m incredulous that I get to know you?”

By the time she stopped talking, his eyes had gone a little wide, his amusement dropping off into something warm and touched as he listened to her just... keep listing. The outpouring of sheer sincerity hadn’t been what he’d expected at all, which meant that for a moment all he could really do with himself was hug her. Really, how else was he supposed to respond to something like that? No, instead he took a few beats to gather his thoughts, aware his quiet was making her smug but ignoring that to piece together something to say in return. “You say all that, but look at it from my view. I get to have all the perks of having a kid without the hard parts, and don’t forget my AI babies, I cannot stress that enough. _But_. I do get what you’re saying. I’ve never been a particularly feminine omega, which probably helps with some of what you’re saying, but the rest? Well. I just like my people to be happy and when you first got here you made Clint happy. Now, well, you make a lot more people in my family happy, including _me_ , so why wouldn’t I be happy for you?”

“Because possessive bitches?” The light words were followed by a beat of silence and then they _both_ fell into laughter. 

It took a minute for Tony to compose himself, his earlier happiness bubbling back to proper life, and he gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Maybe I just show it differently. I take it you dealt with that a lot before you ended up with us?”

Laura wrinkled up her nose but was nodding all the same. “Unfortunately. I was kicked out of a few packs for confiding in a lone omega that I wanted to _have_ the babies, not to father them. And because I don’t have marks...”

He squished her closer, wondering just how often Clint did just the same thing that she didn’t appear even slightly phased by it yet. Probably a lot. The beta gave some intense hugs with those arms of his. “Because you didn’t have marks they didn’t feel any obligation to you. Well, screw that. You’re part of _my_ family now, and you never have to deal with that bullshit ever again.”

“Not ever huh?”

“Nope. You’re stuck with me and mine for life now. I hope you like living the life of luxury.”

“Oh yes, because anyone sane would complain.” She squirmed around, glancing toward the movie on the TV that he’d paused when she came in. “What did I interrupt anyway?”

Tony blinked, seeming to remember only then that he’d been watching anything in the first place. “Eh? Oh. Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. It came out a couple months ago but I missed it in theater. On the one hand, it’s not bad for a movie adaptation. On the other hand, it’s definitely missing something. I can start over if you want to watch it with me?”

“I’d love to.”

Nodding, Tony set about restarting the movie. It would be more fun to watch with someone else who got the jokes anyway. 

Maybe _that_ had been what was missing. 

It was certainly something to think about. Later.

At the moment he had basking to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you wondering where we are in the timeline, we're in late 2005, which means that things are going to hit the MCU proper in the next few chapters. And for those of you asking, that _does_ mean that we're going to get to Loki sometime soon on the scale of 'how long it's taken until now' and 'how much longer'. That guy, unlike most of the rest of these guys, I've had a firm idea in mind for the arrival of since I started writing this. I _promise_.


	54. Two for One

Since her retirement, his Aunt Peggy had come around more than once, often dragging this or that agent with her who she was in some way ‘observing’. In less ambiguous terms, she was retired, but vetting people using the most frightening tool at her disposal. Her pack. Rather, she was testing who would be a good liaison between the pack and SHIELD when Clint was busy, or hurt, or just in general unable to do it himself. In other words, she was hunting for a go-between who wouldn’t be out in the field personally like just about everyone else who had a SHIELD affiliation in the pack. 

She was looking for someone who was still officially onboard who could keep her family informed where she no longer had access. 

Tony knew all this because, after the third time it had happened, he had _asked_. Far from content to continue being bewildered by the stream of not-quite-strangers that she’d been dragging to his home after meetings elsewhere, he’d sought his answers. When meeting number four had gone quickly to hell due to James taking the omega’s _existence_ with exceptionally impressive ill-grace, Tony had requested that maybe they do this another way. Suffice to say, that situation had led to an interrogation of the omega in question and Tony finally meeting the new beta in charge. At least, one of them, an interesting, gruff fellow going by the name of Fury. 

The name was exceptionally well suited given the circumstances they met under. He definitely _had_ been furious.

His frustrated, and understandably enraged, aunt had taken something of a break before coming back around, and this time, the person escorting her had, she informed him, had been brought on board by Fury personally not long before she stepped down. If there were any issues _this_ time she’d just plain give up on the whole thing because _clearly_ there were bigger problems to take care of that needed to be better examined. As it was, someone she’d _thought_ would work getting a visceral _hell no_ reaction from one of Tony’s soulmates had been something of a shock to them both. She’d made very sure to inform Tony of the results of that investigation, as well as the unfortunately foreshortened timeframe before the bastard had clipped his own wings and died. 

This one though, well. Tony was thoughtful. Not pretty by conventional standard, the beta held themselves with a sort of prim steadiness. Not masculine nor feminine, the ambiguity of it was very focused, very deliberate, and, if Tony was honest with himself, rather pleasing. Some, like James, initially chose a middle gender because something was wrong, others, like this one, did it because it pleased them to do so. That the James in question didn’t lose their temper or seem even slightly bothered in this little meet and greet just meant more points to the beta, and he could tell that Peggy was relieved to see it.

If he was honest with himself, he was pretty relieved too. That last meeting not too long before the blow up with Bruce had been an epic disaster and the years since had clearly given Peggy time to reevaluate what she was looking for. As well as probably giving her time to dig around in SHIELD again for any other anomalies, retirement be damned. She had never been a beta who felt any particularly strong urge to stay out of things that others didn’t think concerned her. 

“So, I’m guessing by the looks on your faces that I pass? At least, I pass the most recent hoop. I have to say, I’ve never had quite this intense of a job interview before, and given where I work that’s a bit impressive.” The words were spoken with the slightest tinge of dry humor as the beta collected their cup, sipping it as pale hazel eyes moved from person to person, clearly evaluating. This one wasn’t one who would just passively sit back if they came on board as their connection when Clint was in the field, not with eyes like those. That Clint had interacted with the beta indirectly more than once in the past just meant that the working relationship there would _help_ , not hinder. At least, that was the running theory from Peggy when she’d mentioned that the agent was Clint’s most recent handler in training. 

“Well, at the very least you didn’t inspire James to try to impale you on a big shiny knife, so you can probably call that a win. But there will be absolutely no approval from me until Pepper gets here. She’s running a little late and she’s going to be dragging along someone that you’ve kind of met. You’d know him as, what was it? Hawkeye. That. Seriously, what kind of name is that? Wouldn’t, I don’t know, Robin Hood be more appropriate?”

“He doesn’t steal from the rich and give to the poor Tony, and he _does_ have exceptionally amazing vision. Just let him have the ridiculous code name. He picked it himself you know.” Peggy’s tone was particularly amused, and she shook her head at Tony before looking to the brunet that she’d dragged along in her wake for this little introduction session. “Regardless, to answer your question, no, you don’t pass. You have to meet the rest of the people you might be dealing with before there will be any passing given previous experiences.”

“In other words, we’re glad you’re not a villain and all, but you have a few more hellos to do before anybody is going to say they trust you to tell us when Clint isn’t okay. Also, with Natasha at all, and don’t think I don’t know that this is mainly about getting her in with a handler she trusts. She’s been _actually_ climbing the walls.” Tony wrinkled his nose at this, remembering the way her restlessness had gotten kind of _intense_ in the last couple months. It didn’t matter what he’d given her to do, it just plain hadn’t been _enough_. The new baby in the house had only helped so much before the novelty had worn off, it seems. 

There was a soft snort from James at _that_. “She was not trained to be idle. It does not surprise me at all that the persistent lack of missions has been of concern to her. I would not want to risk her situation with another like the _last_ person that was presented to us, prior to her joining us.”

Peggy gave James a singularly unimpressed look at the pointed comment, then sighed. “Yes, yes, that _is_ why I’m presenting the Agent to you _first_ James, I do have _some_ awareness about how much the pack has changed in the years since that _incident_.”

Tony blinked, then gave her a pout. “I _said_ I was sorry for not warning you that Laura was having a baby, didn’t I? I mean, it’s not like _I_ had a baby this time.”

Seeing that the incredulity was merely growing on Peggy’s face the longer he talked, he wisely stopped, pretending that he didn’t see James smothering their amusement in their water glass. Rude. Instead, he turned his attention to looking around, hoping that the other two who were supposed to meet them for this little lunch get together would magically appear and save him.

That didn’t stop him from hearing the amusement in the new beta’s tone intensify. _So_ rude. All of them. “I see. I’m honored to be considered for the position given those details.” If they were going to say more it was clearly set aside because moments later both Pepper and Clint granted his silent wishes, having a very intense conversation and looking far more alert than expected as they came around the dividing wall to their section in the restaurant to meet them.

Tony really hoped that something hadn’t happened. Because that would _suck_. Regardless, they were making their way straight over, and a glance told him that the closer they got, the more alert the new beta got...

Oh. _Oh_. Tony knew that face. He glanced from one to the other, knowing for a _fact_ that Clint and Pepper didn’t share any marks, but they had broken off the discussion they’d been having and had _both_ zeroed in on the agent. He could tell he wasn’t the only one that had caught on that something was up, given James’ eyebrows were making a go for their hairline. Reassuring that he wasn’t the only one surprised at least.

Regardless, the beta was already up and circling the table to meet the other two, a hand extended in greeting and eyes _bright_. They were clearly happy. The warm, thrilled tone wasn’t missed by anyone. “Agent Phil Coulson. Ms. Potts and Agent Barton, I presume?”

Pepper got the hand first, lips quirking up as she took the offered hand for a firm shake, her head tilting to show the golden spiral that was closer to a paperclip in shape at her neck. It was very much a gesture of inquiry. “Pepper will do just fine I think Agent. Unless I can call you Phil?”

“Phil works just fine. And yes, that’s me.” Ze released her hand and took Clint’s next, amusement written all over their face. “Which makes _you_ the bird I’m guessing? That puts an entirely different perspective on the code name Hawkeye.”

The blond just grinned, reeling the other beta into a quick hug before releasing them and giving everyone at the table a wave. “You have _no_ idea. I’ve got a triangle, feathers, and what looks like a snail too, so don’t go thinking yourself _too_ prophetic there. So, we sitting? I’m half starved. Laura wouldn’t let me have any lunch since I was meeting you guys. Oh! And Clint’s fine off the field.”

Pepper just rolled her eyes at the blond as he made a beeline for the open chairs, taking it as her cue to do the same. “Of course not, she knows how good this place is. So, I think we can safely say, given the whole soulmate hand delivery that just happened, that we’re keeping this one?”

Peggy snorted in kind, looking from one to another at the table once everyone was settled. “Quite. Really, you’re all incredibly lucky that you keep managing that. Very convenient.”

Tony just shook his head, a little grin on his face. “Yeah, maybe for some definitions. They still have to meet the rest of the family before we even consider giving them a room for times they stay over. Got it, Agent?”

The agent in question just raised both eyebrows in turn, far more relaxed than they’d been not even five minutes previously. “Oh, definitely. I’m greatly looking forward to seeing what you have in mind.”

Oh yeah, this one was _beyond_ rude. In the politest manner possible, of course. They’d fit in just fine. Also, on the plus side? Liaison issues solved. 

Win-win for everyone. More or less. 

Tony _was_ a little worried that he’d have to break into the guest house if the family kept expanding this way though. After all, he’d never expected so many of the soulmates in his little collection to actually _happen_ at him. Not that it was bad but... well. He hadn’t quite been prepared by the exponential curve.

Okay, that was a lie, he’d prepared for every contingency, even that one, but he’d expected it to space out a bit more, not get quicker with every passing year, that was all. 

Really.


	55. Shaky Foundation

“Tony, do you have a minute? I think we need to talk.”

Tony never had been particularly fond of that phrase. Sure, sometimes it ended up a fascinating and awesome situation involving some new invention in R&D that prompted it, but more often, it involved Tony having done something, intentionally or not, that someone had decided he needed to be quietly scolded about. A quick glance to the beta standing in his doorway informed him, without a doubt, that this was definitely not one of those ‘I have great news!’ kinds of days. No, sadly, Obadiah had his understanding but displeased face on, which meant he had found something Tony had done to be less than charming but didn’t think he meant any harm by it. _Fun._ Those were his _favorite_. He hated that they always made him need to apologize because he’d missed some detail he should have noticed. 

Still, ignoring Obadiah had never made a problem go away, and he wasn’t about to start now. Thus, he carefully closed up the program he’d been fussing with on his computer screen and leaned back in his chair, gesturing for his partner to go ahead and do his thing. “I have all the minutes. You know I only come in to the office for the paperwork side of things.”

“If that were true you would be here less often Tony.” A grin was shared between them at that and a moment later the beta made his way over to help himself to the alcohol stashed in one of the cabinets. He’d been doing a lot less drinking himself, these days, with the baby getting mobile. One didn’t want to risk someone so tiny getting into something so potent. “But, that isn’t why I’m here. You’ve actually been in the office more in the last few months, R&D is always happy to see you, but we have a problem.” He pointed at Tony with the hand holding his glass, expression sobering. “We’re running a weapon company here, you remember that, don’t you?”

Tony immediately knew what this was about, and couldn’t help a grimace, pushing fully away from his desk. “Obie...”

“I know, I know, you’ve been distracted at home with that adorable baby that Laura gave you all, but this just can’t keep up Tony. You come in, you talk to R&D about your newest plans for _baby equipment_ , and you leave. When is the last time you actually looked at the military contracts we even _have_ outstanding right now? I’ve been putting off the board all month because you haven’t been discussing anything with me. What am I supposed to tell them about this new hobby of yours? It’s under-publicized so it’s hardly bringing in money, and we’re having to fill ongoing contracts with old material. That isn’t good for business and you _know_ it.”

Yeah, this was about as bad as he’d worried it would be, but he had a plan! For once. Sort of. He’d been talking to Pepper and Rhodey a bit about it in the last few months at least so that was _something_. “Okay, so I haven’t touched weapons production in a while-”

“Over six months.”

Ouch. Yeah, he could see why Obie had lost patience with him if it had been that long since he’d noticed. “Okay, so it’s been half a year. We’re discussing it now, right? But, what I was getting at is that, yeah, I haven’t touched weapons in a while but I haven’t been ignoring the contracts, I swear. I’m not irresponsible with what I do around here, really. I even was double checking something on one of the contracts when you got here for an idea I had, see?”

Sighing deeply, the beta gave him a hard stare, then took a long drink of his scotch as he made his way over to stand beside him, free hand gesturing at the monitor. “Alright, Tony. Show me. What was your idea?”

Knowing that if he did this right that Obadiah would be placated _and_ he’d be able to finally properly get his idea off the ground, he immediately leaned forward to jitter off the screen saver he’d pulled up. “So, in this particular contract there’s subclauses that the innovations don’t have to be directed fully at the military _itself_. Most of the contracts are for specific weapons, weapon innovations, or combat gear of some kind, which means things like that wing project a few years back and the body armor we’ve developed, right?” Getting a cautious nod for his reminder, Tony nodded back and looked back to the screen, pulling up the contract. “This one has a bit more room than that. It just specifically cites that we’re required to create something for military _personnel_ and affiliates. Now, I’m not saying that’s a problem, given my idea, but it was unusual because I hadn’t seen a similar clause in any of the contracts I’ve negotiated.”

At that point his partner leaned over his chair, one hand on the back of it as the other fussed with his mouse to scroll a bit for the relevant section. “Well, imagine that. It must have been that new intern in legal we had last year. Even if you didn’t negotiate it, you clearly signed it. Given you have an idea for that, it’s obviously in your favor. So, tell me about the idea this gave you.”

Tony’s lips quirked into a small smile as he tipped his head to look up at the beta. “Okay, so you mentioned that I’ve been kind of uh, baby focused. I _promise_ I’ll get on something a bit more mainline company, but I’ve been examining this contract for a reason. Military personnel have kids. Not all of them, obviously, but there are families that live or work on base, kids who grow up and go to school while being moved around, and that’s who I was thinking about here. I could use the toys and stuff I’ve been developing for Cooper and offer them to the military for this contract so they can be handed off to help with separation issues caused by the profession.”

There was a rather long pause in the wake of that. “You want to send the military baby toys. Tony...”

Grimacing at the expression he was getting, he held up both hands. “Hey, no, don’t look at me like that! I’m not going to be giving over something that’s a glorified teddy bear, I promise. It’s more like a delayed message system packaged in child-friendly materials. Sturdy, brightly colored games that give the child messages from family members that are pre-recorded as rewards for achieving some sort of milestone. For kids who only see their military parent a few months of the year it would be a godsend, as well as helping a kid with their studies, be it learning their colors, reading, or algebra. Of course I was also thinking that they could be set on a firm timetable too, which would be really good for kids who lost a parent in the military.”

Obadiah’s disapproval seemed to ease, though there was still something pinched around his eyes. Tony could deal with that much. “Yeah, okay. Okay, Tony. I’ll give you this one, but next time you get it in your head to do something weird with the company, you need to _talk_ to me. This kind of niche trinket only has limited uses you know, and if you can’t market it to the military, you have to be sure it’s useful and _competitive_ in the civilian market. I just don’t think this is.”

Pressing his lips together a little, Tony struggled to keep any disappointment from leaking into his smile. He’d won, so he’d just content himself with that. “Okay, my bad, I get that maybe I didn’t think this through as well as I could have, but it just came to me and it struck me as something I had to check out. It’s almost done and ready to be presented for this contract even, so I can focus on other things as soon as it’s done.”

“You mean to tell me that this is _all_ you’ve been working on recently?”

“Uh, no?” Because he’d been fussing over the bots too, giving them overhauls to make them a bit more baby friendly, externally, but he _really_ didn’t think that that was what Obadiah wanted to hear right this second.

“Right. Tony, once you finish with this little side trip you _have to_ focus on the company. I know, you have things at home distracting you, but I don’t think the company deserves to suffer because you’ve gone all instinct on us, do you?”

The comment made Tony twitch, just a little, and there was no stopping the hurt that entered his expression. “Obie-”

“Tony, no. No. You’ve been caught up in baby mania since halfway through Laura’s pregnancy. All I hear about from you these days is baby this, baby that, with a spattering of ‘did I tell you what Cooper did today?’ It has got to _stop_. Do you have any idea what it’s starting to look like to the investors? The CEO of a _weapon company_ going baby crazy when he’s an _omega_? They’re worried they’re going to start losing money any day now, and I honestly can’t blame them. Reign it in Tony, you hear me? Finish this little message toy of yours and _focus on the important things_.”

Unsure how to even _respond_ to that, Tony sank back into his chair, and his voice was much quieter when he spoke. “Yeah, okay. I didn’t realize how bad it must look to the outside, but I swear I’m not ignoring the company’s needs either Obie, I _swear_. I’ll get right on developing something that will put a stop to all of that the moment I’m done with this, okay? It’ll be so impressive they won’t be able to doubt anything about us, yeah?”

After a painfully long moment of dubious study from the beta’s end, Obadiah finally nodded, slowly. He obviously wasn’t entirely convinced but was willing to let Tony prove his sincerity without further reprimands. “Okay. Fine. It had better be groundbreaking, you hear? New technology that no one else has seen.”

“Promise. Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?”

Clasping his shoulder, his partner straightened up, shaking his head. “Not at all. You just remember what you promised and all’s forgiven, sound good?”

Relaxing slowly as Obadiah moved away, he nodded back to him. “I can do that. Amazing new technology and innovative ideas that the company can be reassured by. It’s kind of my thing.”

“And no more baby stuff for a while. I mean it.”

He wrinkled up his nose in turn at that. “No promises, but I won’t let the company’s needs fall by the wayside anymore either. I’m paying attention now.”

“You better be.” Gesturing with his empty glass toward the computer, the beta meandered over to set the glass back on the tray he’d gotten it off of in the first place. “I’m counting on you, Tony.”

“I know. Thank you.” 

He got one last nod from Obadiah before he slipped out, and Tony immediately slouched down into his chair once he was out of view, both hands coming up to rub at his face. 

He hated being caught out like that. 

So. Much.

Regardless, it was fixable, and he’d fix it. He’d blow _everyone_ away with his next project. He’d make sure of it.


	56. Unhappy Reunion

Everything hurt.

Everything hurt, and as he clawed his way toward consciousness he realized that that wasn’t the worst of what was happening right now. No, the air was dry, the scents speaking of fine dirt and heat, something which had dried out his mouth rather thoroughly. It wasn’t a hospital, and as the sharp pain in his chest seemed to more acutely draw his attention he realized that that must be _very bad_ indeed.

Slowly, almost unwilling to confirm what his instincts were shrieking at him, he opened his eyes, the darkness and irregularity of natural stone greeting his gaze. That wasn’t okay. Turning his head slightly and seeing more was _also_ not okay, though the movement alerted him that there was some sort of medical equipment on him regardless of the evidence pointing to a _cave_. Lifting his head enough to get a feel of if he was being watched, his fingers were already starting to disengage what he could, panic cresting under the surface of his skin as he did.

It had been a long time since anything like this had happened, and he’d never been _hurt_ like this when it had. Not since he was a kid, really, though there had definitely been attempts here and there, he was sure. There was no dad to get ransom from anymore though, and you don’t go after the guy _with_ money if it’s money you want. Which meant he wasn’t here for that and that was bad.

So very _very_ bad. 

It was as his thoughts started scrambling ever deeper in this direction that he felt a hand press over his, suddenly bringing his attention away from his thoughts, back to what his body was doing. He’d been panicking, starting to rip at the weight on his chest even as his breathing came _far_ too fast. The touch mostly stilled his movements, a low whine escaping before his gaze darted to the person, beta his nose told him, who had jerked his attention away from his freak out. That it was a familiar face was _not_ reassuring. 

No, that it was a familiar face was _bad_. That reaction was instinctive, even before he figured out how he recognized this person. The observations came quickly after that, the swift differences in weight and pallor since last time he saw them, the fact that they were _here_ , wherever here was. The fact that last time he spoke to this beta they had very much been on the side of conservation efforts and general improvement for humanity. Such a thing didn’t speak of _caves_ being their choice of accommodation. 

All in all, it was just horrible. All of it. Every last bit of it. Still, the familiarity wasn’t all terrible, even if everything in him was shrieking holy hell because things were _bad_ , and he forced his voice to work around the painful dryness, knowing his eyes were still too wide and unable to do anything about it. “Yinsen.”

The almost-smile that answered the name was confirmation that he’d gotten it right, and it was very much _not_ a happy expression. “Stark. I regret to say that you’ve joined me in a rather unwilling press into service.”

“Where?” 

It was only one question among the many he _wanted_ to ask, and Yinsen raised a hand in a hold gesture as he moved off, fetching a cup and water even as he answered. “Still the country you last imagine being in, I would think. I am not kept terribly informed, unfortunately. My arrival here was rather abrupt, much like your own.” When he came back, he slid one hand under Tony’s head, supporting his neck as the omega eased up to drink, letting him have just that bit longer before properly trying to _move_. “My skill in dealing with the damages like yours is no small part of why I am here. Do you recall what happened?”

When Tony moved to sit, the supporting hand slid down to midback, easing him up properly, though the leads going to the _battery_ almost had him reaching for his chest again. Instead, he ripped his gaze away from the _horrible thing_ and focused on Yinsen’s face, on answering the question he’d asked him. “I was about to go home, was in the caravan to get back to the base and... we were attacked. And I saw- No. _No_.”

“You probably are not misremembering.” The words were quiet, almost gentle, and the stricken look Tony just _knew_ was on his face was probably why. “That is not important right now, Stark. What is important now is that you survive to return to your family, is it not?”

Swallowing thickly at the way Yinsen said that and scenting the absolute _grief_ that washed over the beta’s scent, regardless of the smile, as he said the word family, Tony felt his eyes prickle with the heat that said tears were imminent. “Yinsen, why did you say it like that?”

The grim expression that he got in turn wasn’t reassuring at _all_ , but there was no time to discuss it any further as shouts came from beyond the doors to their little prison. 

From there, things just got worse, really, and the rest of the day was a blur of horrible things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _We have hit the MCU_. I REPEAT, we have _hit the MCU_. The time jumps are liable to change from here on out, depending on how my muse works with me about it, so we'll see.
> 
> Also, everyone remember that everything is from _Tony's_ perspective and knowledge! Just because Tony doesn't know how or why something is happening doesn't mean I don't. Promise.
> 
> ALSO. For those of you who have already seen Infinity War? You _have my sympathies_. I saw it too. Hugs to all of you.


	57. Nightmare Fuel

The days didn’t pass in a blur. He wished they would, that the moments from the second morning forward would haze away in his memory like the very first in which he was awake, but they refused him that.

No, instead he was caught in a state of docile hyper-awareness, alert to everything that was wrong and askew in the situation. He remembered the details of how each person wore their clothes, the way they spoke, the frightening smile that each got when they knew he was having a rebellious day. He learned when he could push and when pushing meant that torture was somehow going to be worse. He learned who he could trick into bringing him into things they probably _shouldn’t._

More than that, he slowly learned that the situation wasn’t one where he just had to wait to be rescued. 

It wasn’t going to happen. 

Yes, he was sure he was being searched for, he didn’t doubt that, but he was just one omega in the desert, hidden no less, and nobody had appeared in the weeks since he’d woken, since he’d visibly cracked just enough to do something that would keep him alive that bit longer in hopes that someone would _show up_. They didn’t. Instead, he weathered the backhanded praise for being good enough to make sure he wouldn’t _die_ , the ‘gentle’ chiding in the form of a once around through the bucket every now and then to remind him that anything else he made was going to be for _them_ now that he’d solved his dying issue. 

None of this kept him from being just a bit terrified of his own biology at the moment. He was with people who very much wanted him to be obedient, to do as he was told and to not argue. Sometimes, he heard the low comments from this alpha or that one, wondering about his cycle and his lack of heat since his arrival. Really, he’d never been more thankful that reproductive efforts shut down when the body thought it was in distress, but he knew that wouldn’t last forever, that the trauma of surgery would only delay his body for so long before it got used to the situation and tried to make up for lost time. 

He didn’t want to be here when that happened. It was, if anything, the most terrifying concept that had crossed his mind since he’d woken weeks before to dark and dust. He knew that not all countries treated all the sexes equally and that these people had no hesitation in jumping straight to torture to get their way. There would be no merciful heat here where he was left alone to his own devices. They wanted him to hurry along and _make_ them things, and there were well-known things that sped a heat.

He did not want to live through something like that and more than one day he’d woken shaking from nightmares about it.

Yinsen was the only anchor he had in navigating the nightmare, the gentle beta’s persistent grief becoming familiar like an old blanket, something for Tony to wrap himself in and ward horrors away with. In a way, that worked, and the times he dozed tucked up against the older scientist were among the few where the horrors didn’t chase him into his sleep. 

But ultimately, that wasn’t enough. He was on a timer, one where he couldn’t see the numbers, and the only way to get out was to force his way. Thus, he worked. 

He worked, giving them just enough obvious clues to keep them at bay around his efforts to make something better, something more effective that they’d never be able to use. It took _time_ for him to build what he needed to build, weeks, maybe months he didn’t have, and that wouldn’t do. If he was home, it would take days, but he wasn’t home. He was _here_.

He was in this terrible nightmare place and all he had to use was his own two hands to make things he’d designed with higher technology in mind. Making up for the gap was exhausting, if strangely soothing given everything else going on. Repetitive motion that led to exhausted sleep where neither dream nor nightmare could reach him was the only thing that let him get enough rest to go from one day to the next, to maintain that strange place where he was doing both everything and nothing he was told to by his captors.

Thus he’d worked, hard and hurried, piecing together partial weapons when more directly watched that never turned into anything, instead being cannibalized into his overall project, the thing he created from childhood musings into something that would get them _out_. At least, he dearly hoped it was a _them_ and not just a _him_ , because sometimes Yinsen terrified him when they talked about it, giving him gentle smiles even as his hidden grief spiked and twisted with some kind of serenity that made Tony’s hair stand on end every time. 

There would be only one chance at this, only one opportunity to get out or die trying, and every time Yinsen did that, had that _mood_ , the beta pinged him with the sudden fear that if he failed he’d be _alone_ here. 

He’d really rather die, but he knew he wouldn’t. He was too stubborn for that, to actually die if given a choice, _regardless_ of what the universe decided he had to live through to make that so.

Thus, the only option was to get out, to escape while there was still that some part of him untouched by this _experience_.

When there was a change in the guard, things went from ‘not as fast as he’d like’ to _'absolutely fucking urgent’._ The new leader, a beta this one, wasn’t going to put up with his decoys like the old one had, the previous alpha willing to indulge his pleas for time in a way that this beta _wasn’t_. He even started off his introduction with a once around to give him a ‘bath’ but which felt more like a disguised intensification of the earlier torment he’d mostly escaped. 

It had taken three hours.

By the time he was dumped back in with Yinsen he was shuddering, chilled with his breathing leaving him in sharp, stuttering gasps. He was soaked to the skin, clothes drenched from head to toe and he couldn’t keep his feet at all, weak from the fight he’d put up and how _long_ they’d kept at it. But yes, he was clean now, for a certain value of it, exposed skin raw from the combination of scrubbing sans soap that had alternated with the dunkings. 

Worse even than that, the scrubbing had had a purpose. The new beta leader, observant bastard that he was, had wanted to confirm something that Tony had been diligently doing his _best_ to hide as much as possible given the _things_ the people here kept saying. And now he had.

He’d been returned with the order that he had _two days_ to give them usable results or he’d regret playing around for so long when it was taken out of his hide, one way or another.

Just thinking about it made him shiver harder, and he didn’t hesitate even slightly to fling his arms around Yinsen when the other captive wrapped a blanket around him. There was only one thing he could say that would explain just how bad the situation had gotten now, that he was sparking and his deadline was suddenly _fixed_ rather than flexible.

That it came out a rasped whisper only lent weight to the urgency of the situation that they were now in, or rather, he was.

“There’s no more time.”

Given that Yinsen just tightened his grip on him in response...

Well, clearly he’d understood.


	58. Resolutions

Tony had always had an affinity for fire. In a lot of ways, this was because he worked with weapons, with things that a lack of care would end poorly on. In other ways, it was because fire was a lot like him at both his best and worst, which was a parallel he wasn’t really afraid to recognize. After all, fire was used to warm, feed, and comfort when it was in a controlled space being used by those who had respect for what it could do. 

When fire was mishandled it burned, consumed, and escaped to ravage everything in an inferno that sometimes could not be stopped until it burned itself out and no sooner.

So yes, Tony felt that having an affinity for fire was appropriate, now. He’d been beyond mishandled, and he had no qualms in retaliating, in ruining that place and those people until they were _nothing_. He might have if he hadn’t understood the sad smiles and the horrifying peace that Yinsen seemed to have made with himself. If it hadn’t been for the softly spoken chide that Tony had family waiting for him that was said in such an exclusive way that made it clear that Yinsen _no longer did_. 

Yet even with all of that, Tony still had hope right up until the second when the beta had lightly touched his cheek with one of those horrible smiles and then _hurried ahead when he couldn’t follow_. Catching up to him hadn’t been enough. Tony was many things, but he’d never been particularly inclined to medical science, let alone emergency damage situations he simply wasn’t prepared for. 

And so, fire. He wasn’t unaware of the names he had in the papers, the things that the media said in both awe and horror about his skills with weaponry, the way activist groups protested his company from time to time because of the sheer destructive capability. The Merchant of Death was just one of many, really, and one that he’d never felt more appropriate than it was now. Any blood on his hands was no longer only from people he’d never seen and never would, it was no longer a _thought exercise_ that he felt a little bad about but assumed was necessary. 

Now the blood was real, and the scent of burning would linger in his memories. He would always know the difference of before and after, the way it was _easy_ in the most horrible way to let himself unleash fury on those who had caught him and make sure that they’d never hurt others again. 

The most terrifying thing of the entire escape hadn’t been the actual escape or the flight away, not even the horror of Yinsen dying when he could do nothing stood out as the most upsetting piece, though he knew he would grieve the beta and do his best to ensure he was not forgotten. No, none of that was the frightening part. The frightening part was after he’d been scooped up by Rhodey from the desert and his soulmates had finally been allowed to see him, those that could come onto the base at least. It was when he got to cling to James, and Rhodey, and even Clint, and all he could think was that he was _pleased_ that these people weren’t at risk from those _monsters_ anymore.

That was when he was the most frightened. 

Horrible people or not, the well of cold satisfaction for killing anyone was the most terrifying thing in the escape, something he knew he would probably broach with James later, or maybe Natasha, once they were back on American soil. No, almost _definitely_ Natasha because out of everyone she was the most likely to understand best. James’ experiences were different, applied to different parts of what happened, but hers... Yes. 

He let the thought go when he heard the door to the base hospital room open, and when he looked up it was Clint in the doorway, expression solemn and eyes shadowed. Around now was probably when he should dredge up a smile, to try to reassure, but Tony simply didn’t feel like it was there to be dredged, not just now. Instead, he held out a hand in invitation, eyes solemn. His tone, at least, was a little lighter. “Back so soon?”

It was enough for the blond to scoff at him, even as he came to sit at the edge of his bed, taking the offered hand. “None of us would have left if we’d been given any choice about it. As it is, everyone who was around here that the military won’t let on base is making their way back to Malibu now so that they’ll be there to greet you once you’re cleared to fly.”

“It should be tomorrow if Rhodey’s determined face meant _anything_. Apparently, he’s not loving how long this trip has run. Who knew?”

Clint snorted at the flippant words, but his gaze was focused on Tony’s hand, the way the skin was cracked from dryness and use. “Yeah, well, it’s been months Tony. A little over three actually.” His gaze flit back to meet Tony’s after a moment of silence, and he shook his head. “Nobody knew anything, and I really think James and Nat were about half a breath from starting to murder their way across the desert until someone coughed up someone who _knew_ something. You’d be impressed with their patience really. Bruce wasn’t anywhere near as chill. The only reason he stayed home with Pepper was because every time he started to freak out about what could have happened to you Laura put Cooper in his lap. It only took about a week of that for him to figure out that it was probably the best place for him given uh, his issues with anger.”

It was the first time Tony had heard how long he’d actually been _gone_ , and he couldn’t repress the grimace. “Let me guess, the reason you’re here telling me this and James isn’t is because they’re off somewhere taking a moment?”

The blond rolled his eyes, then brought up the captive hand to press a kiss to the back of it, his look rather wry. “Passed out cold the next room over. I don’t think they slept more than a handful of hours since we got word that your caravan went down. When JARVIS couldn’t locate you, it only made it worse I think. Speaking of, that’s part of why Pepper isn’t flying to meet us here and instead just getting everyone back home. JARVIS has been _really_ not okay with this whole thing. I think he might have taken your whole disappearance personally.” There was a small pause, and the faint uptick of Clint’s lips vanished. “Honestly, I think that most of us did. We’re not a crowd that handles helplessness with grace.”

A startled laugh broke out of Tony at that but he cut it off quickly because it _hurt_. It wasn’t particularly amused, no, but at least it let him finally smile. “Yeah, go figure. Military, agents, and scientists not liking being helpless. Shocker.”

The answer was said with false sincerity. “Nobody would ever guess.”

“No, of course not, how ever could I think otherwise?” The humor faded from his expression after a moment, Tony observing the way that Clint was more clinging to his hand than just holding it for a long breath, and when his gaze flit back to his face he knew that Clint recognized he’d been caught at it. He didn’t look particularly sorry about it, which suited him just fine. “It’s going to be different, after this.”

“Yeah, I figured. It wasn’t like last time. You weren’t just missing for a few days before we found you. You were gone for months and we... didn’t. We tried. All of us with clearance to come into the war zone? We _tried_. We even managed to finagle a clearance for James and that was a bit of a nightmare, but Jim got it through, though how I have _no idea_. It definitely wasn’t on the SHIELD side of things. I think that means that from here on it’s not just going to be Jim coming with you to talk to people if you’re in a military zone though. Not after this.”

Tony snorted, humorless but understanding. “So once James regains consciousness they’re basically going to glue themselves to me any time I have to go somewhere that Happy doesn’t have clearance to?”

“And probably more, yeah.”

“Then it’s a good thing that I have some plans for once I get home.” He squeezed Clint’s hand, then carefully disengaged. “Could you check how long that will be for me?”

Sighing, the beta leaned over and gently kissed his cheek. “Yeah, sure, but I’ll probably be back with James in tow if not Jim too.”

“Fair enough. Now go ask, please?”

After a last searching look, Clint slowly nodded and got up to head off in search of the information he’d requested.

Tony just wished he wasn’t relieved to have a moment to himself, especially given that he probably wouldn’t have many of those in the near future. Which was fine, entirely fine, but it would be complicated too, because he had things he felt like he _needed_ to do, now. 

Still, he figured they’d understand, eventually.

Because things were different now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To clarify something here, Tony's family _did_ search for him while he was gone, and rather vigorously. Unfortunately, tracking a soulmate's scent is nearly impossible if there are no recent trails, and that was the only advantage that they might have had. Therefore they were stuck to more conventional search methods.


	59. Fallout

The trip back home was strange. 

There was no playful jockeying for who got to sit beside him, no subtle insults being thrown around, nothing. Instead, there was a very rigid pattern on the plane between the three who could travel with him at all. James was to his left, Rhodey was to his right, and Clint settled across from him when he wasn’t up and pacing. It was a straightforward configuration he knew was, on some level, meant to comfort him.

It didn’t. 

Oh, he appreciated the thought behind the placement, especially given that his arm ached something fierce from his dive bomb into the sand, but there was something holding him back from letting himself sink back into that familiar comfort. He suspected it was because the situation had driven home the painful fact that just because one of them was with him didn’t mean he was _safe_. He was at risk and so were they. For however long it took for that sensation to ease he would just have to live with the feeling that no defense he had was a _good enough_ one. 

In all, it led to a rather quiet flight, though thankfully the lack of feeling safe wasn’t enough to keep him from being able to _rest_. Tucking himself close to one of his alphas was still enough to soothe him for that, and he would be _quite_ grateful for that when nights came that demons denied him peaceful rest. He knew damn well that they were coming, that the first steps were already in place for him to have shattered sleep and horrible reactions. He just didn’t know how bad, not yet. 

He’d give it a week and then he was sure he’d have all _kinds_ of fucked up new habits to examine.

But first had been the flight, quiet, oddly tense, but comforting all the same. 

After that was greeting everyone who had met them, had been not being able to pick up Cooper without hurting himself doing it and seeing the way Bruce’s eyes went green around the edges as he registered his injuries. 

Then he’d seen the stunned shock on Pepper’s face, and the worry that only deepened on Rhodey’s. Obadiah had followed him with his eyes even as he’d fled the reporters like he still wasn’t sure he was real.

Getting home hadn’t been simpler, the chaos not being left behind at the door. He knew that his packmates would follow sooner than later, and all he could do upon being pulled into a firm hug by Natasha once he was through the door was give an awkward, sobbing laugh. He knew Laura had brought the baby, toddler, really, straight home when he’d peeled off for his press conference. He knew Happy had practically glued himself to him as soon as his feet hit the tarmac and the only reason he wasn’t with him right this second was that he was off parking the car. 

And still, somehow, in the stagger of coming and going, he was alone with Natasha, someone he both dearly needed to talk to and was frightened to because what if his guess as to who might be best to speak to was _wrong_? 

He was rarely ever wrong, but when he was it was always _terrible._

“Tony.” The murmur was quiet, and it was only as the alpha started to lead him deeper into the house that he really registered that James had been pulled away from him by Clint sometime between the car and now. Maybe he’d realized who Tony needed at the moment. That would be... good. Then again, Clint always had been good at figuring out what he needed, hadn’t he?

“Natasha.” He almost winced at the way his reply came out raspy and immediately cleared his throat, not liking the intense vulnerability of the _tone_. “Where are we going?”

“Your balcony room seemed the best idea.” She looked at him, hands still holding both of his as she moved backward, towing him along in her wake. “After we talk it will give you time with JARVIS.”

He had no better answer for her than a crisp nod of agreement, falling quiet as she tugged him along through his workshop, exchanging words with Happy as they passed each other that he didn’t quite tune in for. Which was interesting, really, the act of actively not listening to them speaking even as their body language and scents fairly screamed their emotions in his general direction. It was a skill he could ignore, of course, but he didn’t want to. Knowing what was going on around him let him feel safer, at the moment, and he wasn’t about to give his frayed nerves any cause to get _worse_. Though it seemed that JARVIS, at least, felt he’d waited long enough when the glass door to the enclosed balcony was shut behind them, finally speaking up using a tone Tony had _never_ heard before. 

In a way, that was painful all by itself because it meant that the AI, his _kid_ , had suffered in his absence too. “Sir. Welcome home.”

Swallowing thickly against the renewed urge to cry, he took in a careful, shaky breath. “Happy to be home, buddy. We’ll talk, you and I, just as soon as I and Natasha finish okay? I promise.”

There was a faint pause, something that Tony read as the immense hesitation that he knew most didn’t realize was one for the AI. “Of course. I will be waiting.”

Closing his eyes and giving a sharp nod, he turned his face and attention both back to Natasha, who wasted no time handing him onto the couch he’d maneuvered into the mostly empty space. She joined him immediately, though the only point of contact remained their hands between them. “What do you need Tony?”

“I need it to have not happened.” The reply was immediate, and perhaps a little sharper than warranted, but he was tired, sore, and didn’t _truly_ want to have this conversation. Swallowing back the sudden well of hostility, he breathed his way carefully through it and tried again. “I just... need to know something, one thing. They tried to make you like an omega, right? Are your instincts- Are they _different_ than they were while they were dosing you?”

Her fingers squeezed his and she gave him a knowing smile. “You wish to know if the rage is less now that my hormones are being left alone. It is and isn’t. When they took you, we were all angry, some worse than others, but no one was pleased, of course. The alphas had it worst I believe, given that all of us have combat training. But that was not what you were asking. You were asking about deaths because my perspective is unique among everyone in our home.”

Tony could have denied it, but was there a _point_ in denying something that was so obviously true? Instead, he just gave her a grim smile. “I don’t really want to know, but yes, I think I need to.”

She nodded back, then leaned forward, pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek. “There is no shame in being satisfied that you did well in your objectives.” Her hands tightened on his then, making him realize they’d started to shake a bit. “It does not make you a horrible person to know that those objectives led to deaths. You are a strong, intelligent omega who does not lend those strengths toward the things that most would expect of you. It means that there will be times when things go badly for you because others do not wish for you to flourish.”

“Natasha-”

Her tone when she cut him off was almost _stern_. “Hurting those who hurt you is gratifying Tony. It is natural, and it does not make you a monster.”

He pressed his lips together, staring at her for a very long moment before answering, holding that jewel bright gaze of hers in the meanwhile. “My lack of regret about the whole thing is what’s freaking me out, Natasha. There should be _something_ , no matter how horrible the people I killed were. They were still _people_.”

“Perhaps. Perhaps not. You wouldn’t go out and kill innocents, and your mind will not let you walk away from this without reminders, something that perhaps you cannot see, now. You will not turn to death as your first recourse, and have taken steps to the opposite, have you not? Did I misunderstand the news that you gave the country just hours ago?”

There was a beat of silence then, as Tony really _processed_ what she said, and then he gave another one of those watery laughs. “Yeah. Yeah, I did that. I _did_ that.”

“There you are then. Tony Stark is no monster.” He didn’t fight when she pulled him fully into her arms, tucking him tightly against her smaller frame. “Not every title you have been given must be true, Tony, regardless of who is the one speaking it.”

He nodded, turning his face to hide it against her shoulder as he let the tension in his body ease. Rather, when he forced it to. “It’s not that easy.”

“I know. Such things never are.”

He didn’t have an argument to that, but he didn’t much want to either, and let silence fall around them. He could take a minute before turning back to settling his family, just a minute to reassure _himself_ before needing to reassure everyone else. 

He _could_. 

And it would be enough.


	60. Technical Difficulties

He _needed_ to work. This wasn’t a small need, or a passing inspiration, no, it was a driving, persistent force that demanded his full attention. 

Cooper didn’t understand. The toddler just wanted to stay close to him, to make sure he didn’t vanish again, and Tony _got_ that, but he also got that one didn’t have a baby around dangerous experiments and that meant having to regularly peel off a very clingy child so that another adult could keep an eye on them. On the one hand, it was fine. Whenever Cooper was close by, he worked on things for the company’s kid division, letting the nibling play with anything that they hadn’t seen before that was safe. Sometimes the kid was enthralled enough that he felt secure working on one of his less explosive non-child projects even. On the other hand, when he couldn’t focus on those projects he’d give the little one a kiss on the head and pass them over to someone who wasn’t eyeballing explosives. Those times were less fabulous for the toddler, all told, as the kid was never happy to not get to stay nearby. 

Never let it be said that he hadn’t learned some responsible habits over the years.

Of course, it was very likely that his mates wouldn’t particularly agree with his definition of ‘responsible habits’ given that the only one he hadn’t been reluctant to show off his current main project to was _Bruce_. He had already brought him on board with his initial project, having had to do _something_ about that first arc reactor. He’d needed help switching it out, and while he could have poked at one of the others, Bruce had the medical training that meant he’d been a bit less squeamish about the whole thing. That first arc had been horrible. Effective, yes, entirely, but the taste that it had caused to linger at the back of his throat had been unpleasant from the start, enough so that he didn’t even realize how much easier it was to eat until it was gone, changed out for the newer one. His mates had noticed the physical difference, of course they had, the new arc _looked_ different, but most of them hadn’t thought of it as more than settling in higher quality materials. 

Bruce knew better, and sometimes the look on his face when he eyed the glow through his shirts was _incredibly_ uncertain. 

That hadn’t exactly gotten _better_ when he’d caught Tony fussing with figuring out how to use the arc in question as a power source the next week either. Still, Tony had his priorities, and this was something he’d felt that he _needed_ to do. Thus, Bruce’s silence on how dangerous using the power source in his chest _was_ was secured, though it came at the cost of not actively hiding what he was doing from the others anymore.

Which was how he’d ended up here, somehow. 

Here happened to be having an audience who insisted on participating when Tony’s initial efforts to fly had been a little bit more uncomfortable than planned. Yes, he was glad James had caught him. No, he wasn’t loving that he had to spend the next fifteen minutes after that convincing them that he really _was_ just fine. Still, he’d been let out and had averted Dum-E’s need to spray him down with a fire extinguisher even because of the catch so there _were_ some bonuses to the audience. He didn’t find it fair that even when James _actively made fire_ Dum-E never ambushed him with fire suppression though. It was a conspiracy.

Regardless, after _that_ slightly painful delay, Tony admitted that he had to be more careful. 

“So, just so you don’t feel the need to come _running to my rescue again_ , I’ll be trying this again with a _much_ lower power output, alright?”

James eyed him up, clearly dubious. “If those boots of yours explode, it’s going to be _real_ unhappy for you. You’re sure those are totally stable? I remember your dad’s go at making something fly like you’re doing.”

Bruce, who had removed himself to the other side of the workspace after Tony crashed for the sake of the stability of the house returned about then and just _had_ to comment. “It’s not the technology that’s the problem here, it’s how he’s using it. Tony, if you crash again, I’m going to have to go upstairs, and when I do I _will_ make sure that Happy sees what you’re doing.”

“Wow, wow guys. I crashed _one_ time. Have a little faith. JARVIS is monitoring my experiment output so no risk of me making the same mistake twice.” He spread his hands, careful not to hit any of the power output triggers. The last thing he needed was to prove their point by blowing himself sideways across the room. The one time he’d done that in front of Pepper had been bad enough. He still couldn’t believe that she’d sicced Laura on him for that. 

“I have little doubt that any future crashing will be due to entirely different factors than you have already experienced.”

“ _Hey! Sass!”_

Bruce snorted once, shaking his head. “Sounds more like honesty to me.”

Tony rounded on Bruce, but it turned into a pout when James just nodded. “His point is not without merit.”

“Hey! I’m feeling very picked on right now!” When Tony’s audience of two just exchanged a glance and a _smirk_ , he huffed, knowing that that had been the entire point. Why did he love these people? They were horrible trolls, every last one of them. Still, he knew they had no intention of stopping him, and that settled some of the nervousness that had sprung up after his little crash a half hour before. “Okay, fine, I see how it is. Both of you get back by U so I can give this another go.”

“ _Carefully_.”

Tony huffed at Bruce’s chide, but gave a sharp nod of his head as he settled back into the open space, making sure everything was set for another go. “Yes, _carefully_. Any other comments from the gallery? Borya, you haven’t said anything too sarcastic yet.”

James just hummed lowly, giving an agreeable nod and a shrug. “When you crash again, I will catch you. Bucky will fuss, I will act.” 

Tony blinked, then threw his hands up in the air. “I’m not going to crash again! Here, look. JARVIS, how about that nice low output of one percent I decided to skip the last time? U, we filming? Good, okay, so back to documenting this thing. We’ll start low and I’ll work my way up alright? No more big jumps.”

He thought the dubious looks he was getting as he settled into position to give it another run were a little unfair. Most of the other attempts had admittedly been before he got all the configurations worked out so there hadn’t been much _control_ , but he’d fixed that pretty quickly. Of course, after that had come a couple rounds of uneven spinning that was more exasperating than dangerous because not everything was evenly calibrated, but he’d made sure _that_ was taken care of too. Of course, the one time he got a little overeager and properly crashed just _had_ to be right when James had come downstairs. Regardless of all that, it just meant that this time there wasn’t any likelihood of spontaneous uncontrolled directional flinging that he had to worry about, nor fire, or anything else in that general direction like some of the previous trials had caused. 

So, okay, he could _maybe_ see why Bruce was less than impressed at the moment, but James had only seen him crash the once! They had absolutely no reason to look so unsupportive.

The comments about figuring out how to land once he managed to get up into the air were also, in his opinion, completely unwarranted.

 _Completely_.


	61. Appease

In some ways, Tony’s jaunt through the desert had been a blessing. In others, he was sure it had left him with a rather large issue on his hands.

Yes, it had gotten him away from that _place_ while he’d been sparking the edges of a heat, there was no denying that, but the escape itself had resulted in setting the heat back due to new injuries and his body going full tilt survival mode on him. What he’d up and done to himself once he’d gotten home hadn’t exactly let his hormones stand down either as he knew, even without the sideways looks that Bruce kept shooting his way, that something was _not right_ with his arc. No, if everything was fine, he probably would have lapsed into that long-delayed heat weeks prior, probably just as soon as the shock of the reactor switch was done.

Instead, it had been almost three months since then, and the sparking hadn’t emerged into a proper heat. Yes, from time to time he had a day where he felt _awful_ , debilitatingly hot and unfocused, but it never lasted more than a few hours, never emerged into a proper heat. This was bad. He _knew_ it was bad because he knew it meant that his body was going to be incredibly unpredictable when it stopped playing tug of war with itself. He’d heard about situations like this, when someone had a surgery or got very sick, where their heats went from a regular cycle and turned into a veritable guessing game of extremes. Sometimes, the results were a more consistent, but lighter heat. Other times, it just _stopped_ for a while, and when it restarted, it was just messy. 

He hadn’t had a heat in more than half a year at this point. He was, simply put, a little frightened that it would come on suddenly and with full intensity. Because of that, he’d made sure he didn’t drive anywhere alone and had fully discussed boundaries and protocol with all his family members, even those who had never helped him with his heat before. He refused the idea of being caught out and leaving his family unprepared because of it. The biggest reason he was so unsettled? His cycle had always run toward the long end. He’d observed first hand the veritable ellipse of how heat cycles worked. Short cycles meant short heats. Long cycles meant heats to make up the difference.

Creeping past half a year without having a heat? 

He expected it to knock him on his ass for a month, at least, which meant not leaving the house and having to lighten his workload to something that didn’t require his normal processing level because he _knew_ he wouldn’t be able to focus anywhere near as well as normal. In all, not ideal when he had a huge project in the works, months of backlog that he’d been struggling to sort out as swiftly as possible, and a bevy of well-meaning but concerned family members. The expectation and the ups and downs of his body playing maybe yes maybe no on him hadn’t made him the most pleasant person to be around in the last handful of weeks. The sparking almost heat starts had been getting more frequent, but no longer felt like a reliable measure, which in turn had made him snappy, frustrated, and overly restless. 

It was, ultimately, Clint that figured out the problem. 

“So, Tony, on a scale of one to ten, where, exactly, would you put your angry frustrated levels at this morning?” The tone of the comment was light as the blond threw himself on the couch of Tony’s workshop, and it near immediately became clear to Tony that no, his soulmate wasn’t about to get up and get out of his face. Instead, it looked like he was settling in for a long, probably rather uncomfortable, conversation. 

How fun. “Well, I would have said five, but I’m suddenly creeping toward a seven.” The worst part was that he couldn’t just tune Clint out and focus on the electronics on his hands. Sadly, his current stage actually took his _complete_ focus, and he was far _far_ too aware of the archer. Fucking _wonderful_. Pulling his hands carefully free once he finished tightening the section he was on, he cast Clint a singularly unimpressed look. “So if that’s all you came down here to ask me, you’re welcome to go now.” 

When his pointed hand gesture got the wholly unwelcome reaction of Clint sprawling out _more_ , Tony only _just_ held in a frustrated growl. “Yeah, I _could_ do that. In fact, I’m sure you’d even feel better for a minute if I did, but I really don’t think it’d make you feel much _happier_. Just, you know, one more question for you, yeah? When’s the last time you played? Was it _before_ , or have you actually had a round with someone since you’ve been home?”

The question was, frankly, not on the list of ones he’d gotten used to lately. No, he’d been practically _smothered_ in attentive attention, had needed to make sure that everyone was settled and not worrying. Nobody had remembered he was a damn _dominant_ and all this frustration had to go somewhere in the end. Not even he had, really, with how rarely he actually had to _do_ anything about it. He felt he couldn’t be blamed that his voice came out a little weak in his startlement. “What?”

“I know I didn’t stutter. When’s the last time someone let you boss them around without fussing over _you_? I mean, after what happened I can’t imagine that your dominant instincts were remotely okay.”

“I never got to play, no, but I was directing what was going on before I escaped. I think that was... enough? I stayed focused.” He stared at the project in front of him, then shook his head, getting out of his chair and moving to the couch instead, leaning on the back of it to look down at Clint properly. “You going somewhere with this?”

“Well, I know since you got home we’ve all been coddling you and stuff to some degree or another so you haven’t been getting your normal passive ‘they did what I said because I said so’ thing that you usually have going on. You’ve been getting grouchier and grouchier, and your delayed heat thing has just been making it worse, right? Because you know you’ll be down hard?”

Tony gave a slow nod, eyes narrowing a little. “Yeah, that sounds about right. No way when this thing kicks in that I’ll be in a position to do shit until it eases back off.”

“Yeah, so, how about we sort that out? Maybe once your dominant instincts can let you stand down, you’ll be able to properly deal with the heat thing since you’ll be moving _away_ from combat mode. Because let’s be honest here, I think you’re one well-meant check in from punching someone in the face right now. Seriously, even with you standing there listening to me I can scent the frustration coming off you and I’m a _beta_. We aren’t known for our noses.”

“No, you really aren’t. Observation on the other hand...” He shook his head, giving in to the urge making his fingers itch to trace a line down Clint’s cheek. It wasn’t like the blond was going to complain, he’d always been cuddly. “So, you think it’s my lack of appeased headspace that’s playing merry hell with my off balance hormones.” 

“Basically. I mean, everyone knows that if a dominant or submissive gets bad enough that it starts to have an impact on their physical body. With everything else going on with you, yeah. I can see it. So, I figured I’d offer to help.” Giving him a rather playful grin, Clint squirmed until he was firmly settled on his back, crossing his wrists and offering them to Tony. “You know, out of the goodness of my heart. Play with me?”

The approach made the omega snort, amused, but his hand had drifted from his face to his hands before his brain had any chance to truly catch up. Yes, he’d needed something like this for a while. Being a soft dominant didn’t mean that he could afford to ignore it any more than someone who needed it all day every day. And he had. “You’re only offering because nobody’s played with you lately either. I bet they’ve all been so busy fussing over me that nobody’s taken the time to dote on _you_.”

“True.” He wiggled his fingers but didn’t fight the grip on his crossed wrists, apparently satisfied by that minor confinement as an agreement. “And you know me, can’t stand to be ignored when I want attention. So that’s a hard yes then?”

“That’s a very, very hard yes. And when we’re both settled, let's go remind all the switches in the house that the rest of us need a little special attention. I’m pretty sure the other dominants have been settling their instincts on _me_ and that’s just counterproductive for me at the moment.”

Clint gave an agreeable hum, a little grin on his lips as Tony tugged him up to sit, making it so the omega could actually circle the couch without releasing him. “Yeah, usually works out for me, being the only submissive, but not so much when everyone’s ignoring me.”

Tony snorted, tugging Clint up to his feet once they were on the side of the couch where he _could_. The workshop wasn’t really the best place for any kind of play session. “Yeah yeah. I’m not ignoring you _now_. You just tell me if I get too intense, hear?”

“I know the rules. I know you do too. It hasn’t been _that_ long Tony.”

He shook his head, starting for the stairs up to the main house. “Maybe for you, but for me, it feels like a lifetime. Just remember your colors, alright?”

He was relieved when Clint sobered, nodding back to him to show he was taking the caution seriously. “I will. I trust you you know.”

That particular affirmation was more of a relief than he’d expected, but he wasn’t about to question it. “I know. Thank you.”

“You’re _always_ welcome, Tony.” And there went the seriousness of the moment, as he had no doubt in his mind that that response probably came equipped with an eyebrow waggle, though he didn’t look to check. But that was fine, because if this worked out then everything might, finally, start to settle back into something normal.

He could desperately use a little normal.


	62. Settling Out

In the last few weeks since Tony’s heat ended he’d felt more clearheaded than he had since he woke up in that damn cave.

The experience had been just as horrifyingly over the top as he’d expected, dragging on a near solid two months in one of the _least_ coherent spans of time he could remember. Some of the projects he’d made while in that state were hilarious, but thankfully all circled around babies and more babies, because he didn’t want to think of where his mind might have gone if he’d been thinking _weapons_ in that state. On the other hand, baby-mad him had laid the groundwork for another AI, doing it all out of order, sure, but that didn’t exactly _matter_. He could always go back and fill in the blanks as long as he didn’t wake her up. 

However, the point was that in the time since that mess had gotten finished with, he’d been able to _properly_ work. He could focus, sorting out problems that had been plaguing him for weeks as the pre-heat had gotten bad enough that his progress had slowed to a crawl. Things that had been embarrassingly baffling were resolved in moments, coming together as though they’d never been a problem at all. In those weeks, he’d finally sorted out all the mechanics of the armor, integrating how the power interface had to work and in general going from ‘meandering project where I can fly’ to ‘that’s actually pretty badass looking’. Then again, it was so much better when all his processing power was aimed in the correct direction, and he was going to treat this whole experience as the proof of concept for that.

Still, he didn’t expect to see mates that looked so _surprised_ to see him when he came upstairs that particular evening. The kid, yeah, sure, getting his legs tackled by the baby was more than understandable, but Bruce looking surprised to see him? No. “Did I miss something?”

Shaking his head, the beta immediately lifted a hand. It wasn’t _quite_ the gesture of a student waiting to be called on, but it was close. “Well, um, we kind of thought you’d still be busy, so nobody was going to bother you. It’s been good to see you happy again.”

Tony blinked, then squinted, looking over at James questioningly as he picked up the child clinging to his legs, settling them on his hip. “Is he going somewhere with this?” 

He got a crisp nod in turn. “He is.”

“Right.” Tony looked back to Bruce, he raised his eyebrows as he settled into doing bouncy little half turns to entertain the toddler. “Okay, so what are you apologizing for exactly?”

“It’s the main Maria Stark Gala tonight, did you remember?” Bruce had by this point lowered his hand, fiddling with his fingers as he looked back at Tony.

Looking from one person to the other, Tony blinked rapidly because _what_? “Is that where Pepper is?”

It was Laura who answered, calling from the other room where she was watching some show. “Happy too, he drove her.”

“And I’ve had Clint set up with Natasha for security at any major events so they’re probably lurking around that thing too, aren’t they?” When Tony’s words just got a confirming nod, he felt his shoulders go loose, though he was also a little exasperated with everything. Yes, he’d been having a stupid week. Month? Year. He’d been having a stupid _year_ , but he still would have emerged from his workshop to go somewhere nice with Pepper. He knew both her and Bucky enjoyed that sort of thing. “Right, okay, so, Bruce, you take this little one.”

He handed over Connor, who protested. Intensely. With grabby hands even. “Ma, no! I wanna go too!”

“You’ll be bored baby, maybe when you’re a little older okay? It’s late anyway and you should be sleeping. Have a nice cuddle with your mom while she watches her show, or daddy Bruce who I _know_ you like spending time with.” When he just got a small scowl in return, he kissed the child on the forehead. “Right, but as I was saying, I’m going to go get dressed and I’m taking this one with me.” He hooked a thumb at James at that point. “We’ll make an appearance.”

Bruce nodded, expertly hugging the squirming child to his chest to keep them from lunging back into Tony’s arms. “I can do that. I’m glad you’re not upset we didn’t remind you.”

“Nah, no reason to be mad, not really. JARVIS could have reminded me too, or Pepper before she left. You guys were just looking out for me.” He stepped back, hooking his arm through the closest one of James’ and tugging. “C’mon you, time to get fancy.”

He could almost _see_ the way Borya fled the concept as James’ posture loosened. And then they laughed, going with the tug and easily falling in step with him as he headed for his room. “Alright doll, we have to actually get there first. Were you thinking dress or suit for this?” 

“Suit, definitely. If Pepper’s already there she’s probably glowing in something gorgeous and I don’t want to even slightly risk casting a shadow on that. Maybe at the next one though, we could coordinate then.” He looked thoughtful as he answered, then flashed a grin up at them. “You finally get to wear that flashy new thing I made for you before things went to hell though, yeah? Armor reinforced cloth and everything.”

“I’m excited. Even Borya was curious and ze’s not really a clothing kind of person.” James snorted a laugh, shaking their head as they hit the top of the stairs, scaling the baby gate there with the ease of practice. 

“But armor. Yeah, I can see it. Still, sexy, tuxedo shaped armor, this time.” Tony waggled his eyebrows, leaning harder into their side as they made their way along the hall.

“All the perks with only a few of the drawbacks. C’mon, let’s go get pretty for Pepper.”

“Just Pepper? Yeah, okay, that’s fair. And then to the Gala!”

“Which, speaking of, didn’t you invite Hammer to that after last year?”

Tony felt his smile turn into a pout at the reminder. “Hey now, I was getting excited, don’t remind me.”

That James only laughed at him simply made him pout _harder_.


	63. The Rolling Pebble

Going to the gala proved to be an absolute disaster. 

Sure, on one hand, the gala _itself_ wasn’t negatively affected, which was good because it was for a charity. On the other hand, on a personal level, it was like someone had decided to take what emotional stability he’d pieced together since he’d gotten home and stomp all over it. He really couldn’t say he _approved_ of that situation, not really, but there was nothing he could _do_ about it. 

His first warning had, as always, been Justin Hammer.

Much like the assteroid that Hammer proclaimed their shared mark to be, the beta had an orbit and it had clearly been _far_ too long since that orbit had intersected with Tony. Because of this, he’d apparently resumed his stalking habits and found him not even five minutes after he arrived, popping up at his side as though he’d never left it.

“Tony! I’d heard that you weren’t doing these things anymore, I’m glad to see the tabloids were wrong.” 

“Wrong?” The sudden appearance may have been startling, enough so that he’d stepped closer to James on reflex, but that didn’t mean he would ignore the sudden ominous feeling that the cheerful greeting inspired. “About what exactly? I’m afraid I haven’t been keeping up lately.”

James slipped their arm around Tony’s waist when he moved closer, making that seem like the goal. Tony would be eternally grateful that this particular alpha of his had gotten so good at covering for his twitchy moments. It made everything so much _easier_. That it made Hammer’s smile fade a little could be counted as a bonus in that small petty corner of his brain that still hadn’t forgiven the beta for the years of public defamation. “Really? That might explain it. The media was saying that you couldn’t handle the stress and had turned agoraphobic after coming back. I’ve heard talk that you’re not even going to be running your company anymore, especially with everything in the news lately.”

Tony gave his head a little shake, lost because what? He was sure that he would have heard about this from _someone_ in his house if this was the kind of rumor circulating. “What are you talking about? Where are you even getting this information?”

It was _not_ reassuring that Hammer _winked_ at him as though to say he knew he was feigning his ignorance. “Oh, here and there. There’s a reporter around here, I think you’ve met? Goes by Everhart? Shi was asking me some questions. You know, as one of your soulmates, but I was very hush hush, didn’t tell hir a thing.”

Tony felt James start to steer him away then, and he was _more_ than okay to let them. “Right, okay. Thanks for that heads up. You have a good night. I apparently have a reporter to find.”

Hammer looked disappointed but didn’t appear as though he was going to try to follow, which was something of a relief. He did surprise him before they managed to leave, however. “I’m glad you made it home okay, Tony. The world wouldn’t be the same without you.”

It was the genuine feeling in the words that was the biggest surprise, honestly, and Tony gave a nod to show he heard, and understood, the sentiment of it. “I’m happy to be home. I’m not going anywhere any time soon.”

He let James sweep him away then, and while he _spotted_ Pepper across the room, looking as beautiful as she always did, he had to sort out this image situation that PR had for some reason _not kept him informed about_ which was... shit. It was never good when any of his departments kept him in the dark, and he was not loving the sinking feeling in his chest because he _knew_ none of the house pack would have kept him in the dark. Thus, they moved away from Pepper as Tony’s eyes hunted for the blond that had proven to ever be present where media and he was concerned in the last two years. They’d met a couple times before now, after all, so he knew who he was looking for at least.

That all it took to practically summon hir was standing still for more than five seconds without James glued to his side was a pretty good indication that the news shi brought wasn’t about to be _good_. Still, he didn’t regret asking James to go let Pepper know they were there, and he knew the alpha could still see him perfectly well from their position as ze made their way across the room. At least, not for the first exchange of the conversation. Sadly, the feeling had no opportunity to last.

“Stark.”

“Everhart. You’re looking pretty tonight. Do something new with your hair?” He cast his gaze over hir, taking in the crisp but well put together attire. No one would ever accuse the beta of bad taste at least, that was for certain.

“Not even slightly.” Shi was fishing in hir pocket as shi spoke and there was a mounting sense of dread creeping up his spine as shi started to lay what could only be pictures out next to them. He didn’t look, not yet. “It’s pretty low to hide what your company is doing behind the kid division, don’t you think? Pretty two-faced if you ask me.”

It was those words that had him pressing his lips together in displeasure and he finally _looked_. No, they weren’t what he expected, but they weren’t good. No, they were worse, because they were nothing _new_ given things he’d found out this year. But that was just it. The company _shouldn’t_ have been putting out anything that could... No, this was very _bad_. Still, he could hope for sensationalism rather than recent history. “Everhart, are you trying to accuse me of something here or are you dredging up ancient history?”

The hard look shi gave him made him feel like the world had tilted in the most horrible way possible. “Yesterday isn’t ancient Stark.”

“No... No, it’s not.” He reached out, snatching up one of the pictures to stare at it for a moment before putting it back on the table and stepping away from hir. “I find myself needing to go. That? That was _not_ me.” He pointed sharply at the photos before spinning on his heel, diving away from both the reporter who was trying to ask him something else which he simply wasn’t _hearing_ and where a concerned James was trying to make their way back through the crowd with Pepper. He’d noticed Obie was here on his way in, but the beta had been making end rounds. 

Which meant that he was probably about to leave, and this wasn’t something that he felt could wait until he hunted the beta down at home. Not with the low thrumming beat of confused panic fluttering where the arc meant it shouldn’t be able to at least. There was an upside to the jittery sensation at least, as it made him move fast, his crowd training kicking in with a vengeance to get him through and around people without drawing attention or offense and leaving those trying to follow to lag behind. There was the added bonus that his speed meant he caught Obie, even if he _was_ moving at a fairly decent clip by the time Tony felt secure he could call out to him and be heard. 

“Obie! Hey, hold up a second, would you?”

The words immediately got the beta to stop, of course. Yes, they were outside, but that didn’t mean they didn’t have an _audience_ , and the beta had always been somewhat discrete about conflict of any type in public. Tony, on the other hand, while knowing the tricks, didn’t always bother to _use_ them. Which was proving to be very good for him now as he caught up with his mentor, who happened to be watching him with a clearly questioning expression. “Tony! I didn’t expect to see you here tonight. Feeling better?”

The smile he forced to his face felt horribly fake, weak as it was, and he searched for _something_ in the pleasant expression he was being presented with. What, he wasn’t sure, but whatever it was, it didn’t seem to be there. “I was. I’ve heard some rumors since I showed up tonight that- What’s going on Obie? And why don’t I know about it?”

The expression on the beta’s face faded to something more contemplative and he looped an arm around him, drawing him in to talk more quietly. He _wished_ the gesture was as reassuring as he was sure it was supposed to be. “What’s this about Tony?”

“Two things. Weapons being sold where they shouldn’t be, and this talk about me _giving up_ my position in the company.” He stared at him, focused and feeling horribly brittle around the edges. He knew he wouldn’t like the answers he got no matter _what_ they were.

He wasn’t wrong about that, and the gentle, almost chiding, way that they were delivered only made it _worse_. “All me, but one of us had to do something, and it clearly wasn’t going to be you. But it’ll be fine Tony, you’ll see. I’ll take care of the company until you remember what’s important.” 

When he released him after a kiss on the side of the head and a fond smile to meander away like nothing was wrong, like Tony should have _expected_ that to be what he said, he didn’t follow, stunned by the _coldness_ of the whole interaction. Yes, the gestures, expressions, even the _tone_ had been warm, but the feeling the _words_ left him with was like ice water being dumped over his head. When James caught up a moment later and pulled him close, he could have cried in relief at being shocked out of the sensation. 

He didn’t, of course. No, instead he insisted that they go home, immediately.

He had some things he needed to do, and some answers to get about what, exactly, people weren’t telling him.

Not to mention needing to know _why_.


End file.
